Following a 111-98 loss to the Pacers, the Mavs had a day to travel and prepare for the Milwaukee Bucks for a matchup on MLK Day. Here’s what to watch for:

Family Ties

We knew this day would come and it has finally arrived. The Mavericks final draft pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, Kostas Antetokounmpo, will have the chance to play against his older, superstar brother Giannis Antetokounmpo today in Milwaukee.

This road trip marks the first call-up for Kostas this season as he’s spent his time in Frisco with the Texas Legends, averaging 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

“It’s going to be awesome. To see my mom and my brother in the stands, it’s going to be amazing,” Kostas said of seeing his family.

“We’ll see how things go with all of that, but to be in uniform and be on the same floor, even if it’s just in warmups…” Carlisle said. “And in the game, who knows. Maybe there’s a chance to play him. We’ll see.”

Let’s sure hope so. It would definitely be a cool moment for Kostas’ NBA debut be against his brother with their family in the stands. Put Kostas in!

Rebounding

The Bucks lead the league with 49 rebounds per game, though Dallas isn’t far behind, averaging 46 per contest. Tonight will be a big test for Dallas on both sides of the floor, but the rebounding differential will help settle the game.

With DeAndre’s 13.9 rebounds per game, good for second most in the league, he will be key to winning the rebounding battle tonight, along with Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell.

Limit turnovers/fast break points

Imagine the Greek Freak coming at you full speed on a fast break as you’re the only player back on defense; that sounds like a nightmare, or a beautiful sight if it’s not your team being dunked on. That is what the Mavericks need to avoid tonight if they want to compete with the Bucks.

Over the last three games, the Bucks are averaging 25.7 fastbreak points per game. Besides Giannis, having guys like Eric Bledsoe, Kris Middleton, and Malcolm Brogdon running the fastbreak could mean bad news for Dallas.

Catch the game on FSSW for an early tip-off at 1:00pm for Martin Luther King Jr. day.