Tonight, the Brooklyn Nets come to town after winning on the road 104-92 in Miami. With Dallas’ four game winning streak snapped after visiting Memphis, here are a few things to keep an eye in tonight’s matchup.

Dirk to receive key to the city

Even though he has yet to log a single minute on the court this season, Dirk is still the face of this franchise. When talking about the Dallas Mt. Rushmore of sports, Dirk has cemented his spot. So it seems like a no brainer for Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to present Dirk with the key to the city as tonight’s halftime presentation. With Dirk’s continued devotion to the city of Dallas as not just the Dallas Mavericks, but an ideal role model for any sports figure and kid in the Dallas community. When he is not spending 20 plus years of his life to growing the Maverick organization and bringing home its first championship, he continues to find time to impact his community with “Santa Dirk” at Children’s Hospital or his annual “Hero’s Celebrity Baseball” game in Frisco.

Considering how beloved Dirk is and has been to the city, it is a bit of wonder how it took this long in the first place. Nevertheless, the crowd is in for a special treat tonight when Dallas’ adopted son is given the key to the city, when he has already earned the key to many fans hearts.

Mavs back for some home cooking

Dallas has continued to struggle on the road this season and lost yet another one to Memphis on Monday.  The Mavs are back at home now where they have a current winning streak of four games in a row. Maybe it’s the energy from the MFFL’s in the crowd that has led to the 50-point dismantling of the Jazz and taking down the defending champions Golden State Warriors as of late. Perhaps it’s just the sign of a young team that is starting to gel after a rough start on and off the court.

Whatever the case may be, Dallas needs to continue the coming together as a unit. With a few key players possibly out tonight; Dennis Smith Jr. (wrist) J.J (groin), Dwight Powell (knee), and Wesley Matthews still nursing a hamstring, they will need the fans to be extra loud tonight.

The Mavs chance at a playoff spot

Don’t look now but Dallas is only two games out of the 8th spot in the Western Conference playoff standings. It looks like this will be yet another tight and unforgiving season in the West as it truly is a 14 team fight for spots 2-8. With so many teams getting off to a slow start and the Mavericks starting figure it out, they have a real chance to fight for the last couple spots this year. It is so refreshing to see this team trying to win with the tanking days in our rear view mirror. Tonight, the fight continues as they try to get one more “W” closer to the postseason.