MGN: Mavs Head To Golden State In Crucial Matchup

This team doesn’t ever make things easy on themselves do they? The Dallas Mavericks(38-26) jumped out to a fast start against the Indiana Pacers(46-17), only to watch their lead completely disappear. If their is a silver lining to the Mavs issues when it comes to holding leads, it’s that they continue to show some serious mental toughness in close games, and are starting to gel as a team.

The Game At Hand:

The Mavs now find themselves alone in the 7th slot in the Western Conference standings, two games back from their opponent tonight, the Golden State Warriors(40-24). The Warriors are arguably one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now having won 4 in a row, and 8 out of their last 10. The hobbled Stephen Curry will be a go tonight, despite dealing with a strained right quad. Dirk Nowitzki has struggled shooting the last couple of games, but with 13 points tonight, he will pass John Havlicek for 12th All-Time in NBA scoring. A win tonight will move the Mavericks one game closer to moving up to 6th in the standings.

Keys To The Game:

1. Rebound

While this figures to be an offensive show between these two squads, it will be crucial for the Mavericks to clean up the glass throughout the ball game. The Mavericks can ill afford to give the Warriors extra looks at the basket. Golden State is 2nd in the NBA at 48.6 rpg, but are only 15th in offensive rebounding at 11.4 rbg.

2. Beware of the Oracle

This will be a very energetic ball game played at a very high pace. The Mavericks haven’t fared too well at the Oracle, so they will have to find a way to keep the crowd out of it. The Warriors will undoubtedly go on their runs, so it will depend on how Rick Carlisle handles those moments and ultimately how the team will respond to them that may decide this ball game.

Matchup of the Night:

Monta Ellis vs Stephen Curry

Monta Ellis will make another return to Golden State tonight, and he will square off against his ex-teammate Stephen Curry. Monta has played at an extremely high level all season long, while Curry continues to be the lead man in Golden State. While curry mostly excels from outside, Ellis will look to find ways to slash and attack the basket at all costs. They are high-energy players who are looking to move their team forward in the right direction.

Quotes:

“All of them are crunch time. It’s not just Golden State, it’s all of them. From this game all the way to the end of the game when we play whoever we play last, all of them are big and all of them could either make us or break us. So we’re just focused on one game at a time and hopefully we can get some wins.” – Monta Ellis

 

“We’ve got to be a strength-in-numbers outfit here. We need contributions from everybody, and (Sunday) we got a depth of contribution from everybody.” – Coach Rick Carlisle

When and Where:

Tip-off at home tonight is at 9:30pm CST. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.

Playoff Watch:

6. Golden State (40-24) | Next 3 – DAL, @LAAC, & CLE

7. Dallas Mavericks (38-26) | Next 3 – @GSW, @UTAH, & @OKC

8. Memphis Grizzlies (36-26) | Next 3 – POR, @NO, & @TOR

9. Phoenix Suns (36-27) | Next 3 – CLE, @BOS, & @TOR