Mavs Game Night: Dallas at Golden State

The Mavericks look for a much better result tonight than the one they suffered Monday night, just as the Dallas Cowboys were wrapping up their dud in Chicago. The Mavericks suffered a horrible gut wrenching loss in Sacramento, falling 112-97. The Mavericks will now look to take back to back games against Golden State. They were able to hold off Golden State in their first meeting of the season, 103-99.

THE GAME AT HAND:

Golden State is also coming off a difficult loss at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats. The Warriors are just 6-8 on the road, so they will be happy to be playing in the friendly confines of Oracle Arena where they are 6-2.

The Warriors will once again be without the services of their new acquisition Andre Iguadola, so look for big performances from their young stars, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

There aren’t many “must wins” in the month of December, but after dropping a dud in Sacramento, the Mavericks would love to get a win here and get back on track at the expense of a very young and talented team like Golden State. Monta Ellis will look to put on a show against the team that drafted him back in 2005. He struggled shooting (2-16) in the first matchup, but ended up dishing out 10 assists in the win.

This will be the last game of the Mavs recent 4-game road trip, so getting a win here could give the Mavericks some momentum heading back to American Airlines Center.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Rebound the ball. The Warriors rank a decent 11th in the NBA in the category, so the Mavericks must try and find a way to limit the offensive rebounds, which will in turn limit extra opportunities for the big time scorers like Curry and Thompson.

Score. This is on ESPN after all. This figures to be a very entertaining basketball matchup with the two high scoring offenses. I think we can all come to the conclusion that the Mavericks will have to outscore most teams they play, because of what they lack on the other end of the floor. Finding ways to stop Curry, Thompson, and Harrison Barnes will figure to be a daunting task, so the best option is to put up points, and lots of them.

MATCHUP OF THE NIGHT: Monta Ellis vs Klay Thompson

ESPN covered this matchup today on their “5 on 5” segment, and most agreed that the better current player goes to Klay Thompson. Anyone who knows Monta Ellis knows that he doesn’t lack confidence in himself, so he will be ready to make his voice heard tonight. They are two electric players who have different abilities in different areas. Thompson is more of a shooter and a better defender, while Ellis looks to create his shot and get to the basket whenever he is able to.

QUOTED:

“It’s a different game. It doesn’t really matter to me. I just come in trying to get a win and play for the team I play for now. … I’m in a good place right now, but the fans have always been here and supporting me my whole career. It’s always great to come back here.” – Monta Ellis

 

They played in Charlotte (Monday night), so they have a day in between. But that’s a tough place to play. We’ve got to be on our game and we’ve got to be ready for the situations — the pin-downs, the movement, the pick-and-rolls with Curry, the catch-and-shoots for [Klay] Thompson, the isos for [Harrison] Barnes and the two guards and the big guys inside. … They’ve got a lot of problems you’ve got to deal with.” – Rick Carlisle

WHEN AND WHERE: Game action starts 9:30 p.m. CT and airs nationally on ESPN and locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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Source – Earl K Sneed (Carlisle and Ellis quote); Matt Strasen (Photo Credit)