The NFL season is now officially over and it’s time to for teams in the NBA to compete for their rightful playoff positions. The Dallas Mavericks (27-21) defend their home court tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-31)
The Game At Hand:
With a win versus the Kings three days ago, the Mavs are looking to step up in the month of February. Dallas is currently 9th in the Western Conference standings, being one game back behind the Memphis Grizzlies. Don’t start hitting the panic button yet though as the Mavs face nine of twelve teams with an under-.500 record in the month of February.
The Cavs appears to be a lottery team again with their dismal play this season. Cleveland has lost their last 4 games, which led to rumors being released that Kyrie Irving might sign with another team in the summer.
Mavs’ rookies Shane Larkin and Ricky Ledo have recently been assigned to the Texas Legends D-League team.
Keys To The Game:
1. Backcourt Needs to Step Up
The play of the Mavs’ backcourt has been somewhat ineffective, primarily focusing on the slump of Monta Ellis. Ellis in the last three games totaled 33 points and eight assists. Ellis’ January 20th showdown against the Cavs resulted in a 22 points and eight assists performance. Hopefully, Jose Calderon can also rebound from missing a game-winning three-pointer against Houston last Wednesday.
2. One Word…. Dirk.
All the attention has been on Kevin Durant as of recent with his 30+ point scoring streak. Now that his scoring streak ended at 12 games, Dirk Nowitzki is on a little scoring streak of his own. The 2014 All-Star forward has managed to score 25+ points in the last three games, also shooting almost 60% from the field. Expect the Mavs tonight to feed Dirk the ball early and often on offense.
Quotes:
“We shouldn’t have any letdowns against anybody,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “You know, our games have all been hard, and they’re going to continue to be hard. It’s becoming more and more of a league of parody. Everybody is spending the same amount on players, so we’re getting a lot of close games. Watching Cleveland play two nights ago against Houston, they had a fighting disposition about them. They were into it, they were battling all night, and I expect that’s what they’re going to do. We’re going to have to do it better.” – Rick Carlisle
“I’ve been in a good groove. Before the last three, I didn’t really have a good groove.” – Dirk Nowitzki
Where and Where:
The game tips off in the AAC at 7:30 pm CST and airs on Fox Sports Southwest
GO MAVS!
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