Dirk Nowitzki made his return to the court. 38 points. Nope, not the amount of points he scored in his first game this season, but rather how much his Dallas Mavericks lost to their rivals from San Antonio.

A week later the Texas foes meet again this Sunday for a rematch, this time in Dallas. The Spurs comfortably rest 10.5 games ahead of the Mavs, good for the third best record in the Western Conference.

Dirk will attempt to finally make some progress in his fourth game back. The rust in his game is quite evident, predominantly in his conditioning and catching up to full time game speed.

Though the Spurs are ‘only’ 11-6 and much less threatening on the road, the Mavs’ 8-5 home record doesn’t scare anyone.

What cannot happen if they Mavs want any chance at victory tonight is a better defensive effort against the three-point shot. The Spurs drilled a franchise-record 20 shots from deep, which equated to 45 more points that Dallas received from its five total makes beyond the arc.

Turnovers.

They have been a thorn in the Mavs side all year long. They’ll hurt you against average opponents and will kill you against elite competition. The Spurs are elite and another mistake filled game tonight will end in another lopsided defeat.

O.J. Mayo played marginally better against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night with 15 points, but it’s been a while since he put together a solid all-around performance. He’s dealt with some flu issues and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt through a tough stretch.

All was NOT peaches and cream in Jason Terry’s first season as a Maverick either. Mayo has actually had a much better inagural campaign than the JET, but the comparisons are there. Both became Mavericks around their mid-20s. It’s growing pains, but with patience Terry turned into quite the piece of Mavs history. The same could transpire in the form of Ovinton J’Anthony.

Tonight’s game possess an awfully brutal challenge. The rival Spurs are playing great basketball and the Mavs have obviously been on a downward spiral. Dallas searching for team chemistry. Gregg Popovich’s crew has it brewing. The Mavs are watching their lone star ease his way back into game shape. The Spurs have their stars and role players in a groove playing prime winning ball.

The odds are against the Mavs to pull this win out, but anything can happen. Dallas fights and they have the will to win. Unfortunately will isn’t enough. Execution will need to be there and at near perfection to prevent the Spurs from winning their fifth consecutive game.

Let the hope be there that the Mavs/Spurs classic becomes just that in tonight’s game. Good, hard competitive basketball in the great state of Texas.

The action tips at 6:30 p.m. CT and will broadcast on FSSW. Let’s get it Mavs!

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