It’s safe to say that there will be no resurrection of the Dallas Mavericks 2015-16 season.
Just yesterday the Mavericks (35-38) were sitting sixth in the west (March 2) and now they find themselves a half-game behind eighth-place Houston (36-38). The defensive decline for Dallas has put the hopes of a 15th playoff appearance in 16 seasons in major jeopardy.
“We’ve got to decide if we want to go home after the last (regular season) game or not,” Wesley Matthews said. “(Do) we want to keep playing for something or not? Do we want to lay everything out on the line every single night nine more times and let the chips fall?”
Dallas never ceases to amaze me by allowing an opposing trash team (Taj Gibson voice) to look like they are the defending champions. That’s exactly what happened Sunday night as the Sacramento Kings were able to shoot a season-high 62.2 percent and have eight players score in double figures.
The Kings (29-44) put their stamp on Dallas this season taking the season series 3-1.
With nine games remaining, the road continues to darken for the Mavericks as Monday night they take on the Denver Nuggets. Dallas is looking to break out of their road slump, having lost four straight as the visitor.
Denver (31-43) is coming off a 105-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (45-27) Sunday night in which Denver’s starting five shot a dismal 22.4 percent. Kenneth Faried has missed six-games for the Nuggets and has been ruled a game-time decision for Monday nights match-up.
The Mavericks currently lead the season-series match-up 2-1 but the Nuggets have hopes of bouncing on the Mavericks current decline and splitting the series.
Pressure will continue to fall on Dirk Nowitzki with Chandler Parsons done for the season and Deron Williams to miss his third straight game. Nowitzki, who has averaged 26.1 points over a nine-game stretch, not counting his resting night against Golden State, was held to 14 points by the Kings.
Dating back to last season, three of the last four meetings between the two have been decided in overtime.
How To Watch:
Tip off is set for 8:00 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest.
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