Can they match Miami’s energy?

The Mavericks played what might be their worst home game of the season Wednesday (hopefully). The Charlotte Hornets, a perennial lottery team, came into the American Airlines Center and ran the Mavericks out of their own gym.

For a proud franchise, it’s unacceptable. But it’s one thing to say that and another thing entirely to act upon it. They certainly took their Christmas night beating at the hands of the Lakers to heart, as evidenced by the 51-point blowout of the Clippers.

Will they bring that same energy into this one? Anything other than that would be a disappointment. That doesn’t mean they have to win by some historic margin, but it does mean they need to respond. Show some guts if you will.

Can Luka finally get right?

Luka is still playing good basketball. But relatively speaking, it’s been a poor start. After setting such a ridiculously high bar in his sophomore season, we were all expecting more. And we aren’t getting that right now.

Admittedly, he’s not in the best shape. And it’s impacting his play substantially. He’s shooting just 2-of-21 from three point range. A rate outdone by Javale McGee. He’s not finishing as well at the basket, a staple in last years attack.

It’s all been pretty rough for him. And for the Mavericks to be the team they think they can be, they need the very best version of Luka. They aren’t getting it right now and everyone knows it.

When will the offense find their form?

This was the most efficient offense in league history last year. Sure, they traded away a marksmen in Seth Curry. And perhaps more importantly, they’re without Kristaps Porzingis.

But not even those things account for the drought we’re seeing. The Mavericks have put out one of the worst offenses in the league. It’s inexcusable and they’ll tell you the same.

From where I’m at, fixing it boils down to one thing: Making shots. Basically nobody on the team outside of Maxi has been doing that. And even with his relative struggles, Luka is still creating lots of open ones. It’s just a matter of knocking them down.

The good news is, it’s hard for the shooting to get worse. Hopefully we start to see them progress towards the mean against Miami.