Revenge

The Mavericks hit the road tonight for the first game of a three-game road trip as they take on the Sacramento Kings. These two matched up last Sunday in Dallas, as the Kings knocked off the Mavericks, 121-107, where DeAaron Fox and company took control of the game early, having Dallas playing catch up for most of the night.

It was an ugly loss for Dallas, who needs every win they can get at this point in the season with playoff seeding on the line. Winning tonight would give the Mavericks their fourth win in a row and help build on their lead of the 6th seed.

 

Injury Report

The Mavericks injury report looks pretty stacked this morning, as Dallas has several players listed as questionable at the moment, including the Mavericks’ entire starting lineup.

Mavericks' questionable list for tonight vs. Kings keeps growing:

Luka Doncic (left elbow contusion)
Dorian Finney-Smith (left lower leg soreness)
Maxi Kleber (low back contusion)
Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain)
JJ Redick (right heel soreness)
Josh Richardson (hamstring)

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 26, 2021

But for Dallas, they dodge a bullet as Kings star DeAaron Fox will miss tonight’s game as he’s currently in healthy and safety protocol. Fox lit up the Mavericks last Sunday for 30 points and 12 assists in Sacramento’s victory.

Hopefully this list shrinks when the second injury report is released later this afternoon. The last thing the Mavericks need is to lose another very winnable game with several players on the shelf resting an injury that they could easily play through.

 

Playoff  Seeding

Dallas has finally gotten over the hump and escaped the play-in tournament…for now. The Mavericks currently sit as the 6th seed, holding a 1.5 game lead over Portland, who has lost five games in a row and nine of their last 11. Dallas looks to be trending in the right direction as Portland is on a downward spiral. If the Mavericks can win tonight, that adds even more of a cushion to avoid the play-in tournament.