Trying to End Slide, Mavs Head to Alamo City to Face Spurs

 

It’s the week of Thanksgiving and the Mavs are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history.  With their loss in Orlando on Saturday night, Dallas fell to a miserable 2-10 record that gives them the worst record in the league.

 

Surely the schedule’s going to lighten up and allow them to rattle off some wins, right?  Think again!  The Mavericks head to San Antonio to face the Kawhi Leonard and the 10-3 Spurs Monday night.

 

Monday night begins a stretch of three games where the Mavericks play three teams that already have double digit win totals this season: the Spurs, Clippers and Cavaliers.  Exactly what the doctor ordered, right?

 

As of Sunday night, it is expected that Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams will miss their 8th and 3rd consecutive games respectively.  

 

It’s nothing new for the Dallas.  They are yet to play a game at “full strength” this season with Devin Harris yet to step on the court during the regular season and Nowitzki or Williams seemingly missing every game since.  The Mavs will also continue to be without J.J. Barea; who’s expected to miss at least six weeks with a muscle tear in his leg.

 

In Barea’s absence, guard Jonathan Gibson has been a spark in his first two games.  With his breakout performance in Saturday night’s loss at Orlando, Gibson became the first undrafted player to score at least 26 points in his first or second NBA game since Lloyd Daniels with the Spurs in 1992 (via ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon).

 

Mavs/Spurs Head-to-Head History

The Spurs own the recent and overall history between these two teams.  They swept the season series with Dallas last season and haven’t lost a regular season game in San Antonio against Dallas since the magical 2010-2011 campaign.  While the Spurs have been absolutely dominant at home the last few yars, they’re just 3-3 there so far this season.

 

This will be the first Mavs/Spurs matchup without the magic of a Dirk Nowitzki/Tim Duncan showdown in nearly two decades.  With the Big Fundamental’s retirement this summer and the Big German’s injury struggles this season, this Mavs/Spurs tilt just won’t have much zest.

 

Key Matchup: Harrison Barnes vs. Kawhi Leonard

Mavs fans love the great start to Harrison Barnes’ first season in Dallas.  He’s exceeded most expectations and been one of the few bright spots on what has been a dreadful team so far this season.  However, the last two games are either just a cold streak or a sign of him coming back down to Earth.

 

Combining his performances in Wednesday’s loss in Boston and Friday night’s nearly historically bad loss against the Grizzlies, Barnes averaged just 13 points while shooting an abysmal 8-30 from the field.  How will he respond with the two-time Defensive Player of the Year focusing on him?

 

Injuries

Jose Juan Barea (left calf strain) is out;

Devin Harris (right great toe sprain) is out;

Dirk Nowitzki (right Achilles strain) is out;

Deron Williams (left calf strain) is out.

 

How to Watch

The game will tip-off just after 7:30 and can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest in the DFW area and on NBA TV for those MFFL’s who aren’t fortunate enough to live in North Texas.