Houston,TX—Not a whole lot went right for the Dallas Mavericks (30-16) last night in their match-up against Memphis, falling 109-90 on their home floor. The Mavericks couldn’t hit water from a boat last night, especially from long distance. The league’s second highest scoring team (107.5) was held in check throughout the evening, going only 7-23 on 3-point shot attempts.

That is now three straight losses for the Mavericks, which is the first occurrence of this season. They will have to forget about their recent funk quickly, as they will head straight down the I-45 today to take on the Houston Rockets (31-14). The Mavericks fell to them back in November 95-92, with James Harden leading the way with 32 points.

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Projected Starters

Mavs

Chandler Parsons (15.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg)

Dirk Nowitzki (18.9 ppg, 6.0 apg, 1.9 apg)

Tyson Chandler (10.5 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.4 bpg)

Monta Ellis (20.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.4 apg)

Rajon Rondo (9.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 9.2 apg)

 

Rockets

Trevor Ariza (12.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg)

Donatas Motiejunas (10.9 ppg,6.1 rpg, 1.7 apg)

Dwight Howard (16.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)

James Harden (27.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.8 apg)

Patrick Beverly (11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg)

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Match Up at Hand:

R-E-L-A-X? I’m not so sure. The Mavericks have some flaws that are really starting to show consistency. At times, they can be one of the most lethal offensive teams around. Then there are stretches where there seems to be no real flow, and they go stagnant. Since trading for Rajon Rondo, the Mavericks are 11-8, with only two real quality wins against Oklahoma City (Without Durant) and Memphis last week on MLK Day. Is it Rondo’s inability to shoot the ball well, or is it that both Monta Ellis and him need to have the ball in their hands.

 

Naturally the #Mavs are still getting used to Rajon Rondo. They were 19-8 before he arrived and have been 11-8 since his arrival.

— Dwain Price (@DwainPrice) January 28, 2015

 

To go along with that, the Mavericks continue to expect to sign Jermaine O’Neal any day now, but will he solve their problems. Carlisle had to find a replacement for Brandan Wright after the trade, so he started to roll with Greg Smith at first, eventually turning to young Stanford alum, Dwight Powell. Powell is still so raw, and he doesn’t have the ability to bang down low and provide the Mavericks with any true rebounder or defender in the post.

Tonight will not get any easier. While Houston has one of the top 10 offenses in basketball, they can also be a very stingy defense as well. They will also be playing the second night of a back-to-back. Houston hasn’t played since Sunday, when they took down the Los Angeles Lakers 99-87.

[otw_shortcode_quote border_style=”bordered” background_color=”#05084a” color=”#ffffff”]“I wouldn’t say panic, but we definitely understand that we need to come in and fix some things. We’ve got to make some adjustments. You know, it’s the first time we’ve lost three games in a row this season and we’re headed to a tough road trip, so these games are important.” – Tyson Chandler[/otw_shortcode_quote]

 

Match Up to Watch: Chandler Parsons vs Trevor Ariza

While this story has lost some steam since the beginning of the year, it’s going to continue to be something to monitor if your a Mavericks or Rockets fan. Chandler Parsons left the Houston Rockets over the summer during free-agency and joined up with our Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets responsed by signing Trevor Ariza. In their first matchup this season, both guys may have felt the pressure a little bit, as neither one of them shot the ball particularly well, and failed to be much of a factor for their respective teams.

 

Player	Age	G	FG%	3P%	2P%	FT%	REB	AST	STL	TO	PTS
Trevor Ariza	29	45	.37	.32	.44	.85	5.4	2.2	2.0	1.5	12.4
Chandler Parsons	26	45	.45	.36	.52	.73	4.6	2.2	0.9	1.3	15.5

 

Series History

The Rockets lead the all-time series against the Mavericks 82-78. The teams split the season series last year, winning 2 a piece. Houston took the 1st game of the season series earlier this year 95-92 on November 22nd.

 

(Photo Credit: Scott Halleran/Zimbio via Getty Images)

(Quote Credit: Earl K. Sneed)