The Mavs have now lost four out of the last five games, thanks to Thursday’s loss to the defending champion Warriors. The only bright spot right now is that the only team they beat in the past week is who they play tonight. Bad part is that it’s the Spurs and those rivalry games are always pesky.

Looking at this Spurs team isn’t like it used to be. Sure they have Coach Pop and LaMarcus Aldridge, but this team isn’t the same without a healthy Kawhi Leonard. Leonard, who made his season-debut Tuesday against the Mavs, is on minute restrictions. One thing that will be evident is Aldridge will have a huge night against this team’s very small forwards. In their last game, he scored 23 and pulled down 13 rebounds. The best thing to do is to try limiting the other players on the team and not letting Aldridge spark his teammates. Solid, sound defense will help slow down this Spurs team and at least make it very competitive down the stretch

Veterans’ Day

Though this season has had a focus on the young players on the team, this past week the veterans have really been effective. Going back to the last time the Mavs and Spurs played earlier in the week, it was because of crucial plays by these older players. The star of that game was no doubt guard J.J. Barea. Late in to the third quarter, Barea sparked a Mavs rally by scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second-half and had six assists.

Then in Thursday’s loss to the Warriors, Barea shined again by scoring 14 points and leading the team in assists again with six. Forward Dirk Nowitzki also came to life scoring 18 points with nine rebounds. Thanks to their play, the team competed down the stretch before Golden State used their talent to pull away late. If they can continue their play like that into tonight’s game, there is a big chance they can get out of San Antonio with a victory.

Catch all the action live tonight on Fox Sports Southwest. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. CST.