After a disappointing weekend suffering back-to-back losses in two very winnable games against the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans, the Mavericks will look to bounce back tonight in Oklahoma City against the Thunder with hopefully a full roster.

In Friday’s loss to Indiana, Luka Doncic missed the game due to a sore lower back. On Saturday, Luka missed his second straight game due to an illness while Kristaps Porzingis sat out the game due to injury maintenance.

Though frustrating having your superstar miss, again, two very winnable games, maybe Luka’s back was really tight on Friday and as Carlisle said, they sent Luka back to the hotel to rest in New Orleans on Saturday. Could he have played this weekend and helped the Mavs avoid two losses in a row, possibly. But, it’s on and upward and that begins tonight against the Thunder.

Fresh Luka & KP

Not much to say here. With Luka missing the two back-to-back games this weekend and KP resting on Saturday, these two should be fresh and ready to dominate tonight in OKC.

Depleted Thunder

The Thunder, who have already struggled throughout the entire season, have been hit by the injury bug as of late. OKC’s star player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis and Luguentz Dort is currently in concussion protocol and will likely miss tonight’s game against the Mavs.

With no SGA, the playmaking and scoring must come from a collective unit. And without Dort, that eliminates the primary defender for Luka, which will help open up the floor for Doncic to attack at will without The Dorture Chamber on the court.

Moses Brown?!

Yep, Moses Brown has been a force for the Thunder as of late. The undrafted second-year player, who spent some time with the Texas Legends last season, has showed flashes over the last nine games for OKC in an extended role, averaging 12.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game.

On Saturday in the Thunder’s loss against the Celtics, Brown put on an absolute show, scoring 21 points and grabbing 23 rebounds, which led to a multi-year contract extension on Sunday.

I never thought I’d mutter these words but the Mavericks must contain Moses Brown on the boards tonight to avoid another disappointing loss and their third in a row.