Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks take on the San Antonio Spurs at the AAC on TNT at 7:00 PM CST. Since the All-Star break the Mavs are 8-8 with some truly brutal loses. The loss to the Suns on Sunday is no exception as Monta Ellis absolutely ran the Mavs in the ground. Rick Carlisle told the media what many die hard MFFL’s are thinking when asked what the issue is with the team currently,
“I have my theories, but I’m not going to air them out publicly. I aired things out in there at halftime, and I’ve said enough for one night as far as this goes.”
Something is up with this team, Monta has not been himself with his shooting percentage, attitude, and lately just seems to not be having very much fun. As said on twitter many times after the Suns fourth quarter instead of the positive message Mavs fans have incorporated with “Too Much Monta” it has now become a derogatory phrase. No seriously that is just “Too much Monta”.
The good news is the Mavs have a back to back with the San Antonio Spurs next. The Mavericks sit at 44-27 and the 7th seed in the Western Conference. While the San Antonio Spurs have the 6th seed with two less losses 44-25. Having the 6th seed instead of the 7th seed is huge for the Mavs. At 7th we face our nightmare of a matchup in the Memphis Grizzlies, and 6th we face a very manageable Houston Rockets as the standings sit today.
Keys to the Game
The main key for this Mavs defense against the Spurs is containing the three ball. It’s no secret that the Spurs are great at moving the ball around and can really make you pay from three. Although the Mavs are really not even remotely playing as a team at the moment it will take solid rotations and communication to pick up shooters like Marco Belinelli, Danny Green and Matt Bonner.
For the Mavs offense finding the hot hand and getting everyone involved will be the key. In the third quarter of the Suns game we looked great through transition basketball and moving the ball. In the fourth quarter it was an isolation Monta offense although Dirk has been shooting great of late. It will be up to Rajon Rondo and Carlisle to make sure our two hot shooters as of late Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons are getting the appropriate amount of shots.
Matchup of the Game
Chandler Parsons vs. Kawhi Leonard
Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis are both poor shooters from the three point line and both primarily like to get into the lane. With this is mind Parsons making his three point shots like he has is important. We need Parsons to be able to spread the floor and not let Kawhi lock him down like he is capable of doing. At the same time Kawhi has really gotten this Spurs offense moving, Parsons will also have to contain Leonard and not let him get to the lane at will.
Projected Starters
| Mavs | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirk Nowitzki | 17.1 | 1.9 | 6.0 |
| Chandler Parsons | 15.7 | 2.4 | 4.9 |
| Tyson Chandler | 10.0 | 1.2 | 11.5 |
| Monta Ellis | 19.1 | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| Rajon Rondo | 9.2 | 6.4 | 4.7 |
| Thunder | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Singler | 3.5 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
| Steven Adams | 7.8 | 1.0 | 7.6 |
| Enes Kanter | 17.3 | 1.3 | 10.7 |
| Dion Waiters | 11.8 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Russell Westbrook | 27.6 | 8.6 | 7.2 |
Injury Report
Manu Ginobli – Probable
Aaron Baynes – Out
Devin Harris – Questionable
JJ Barea – Out
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