The Dallas Mavericks are next off a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night and should be eager to make that up against the Sacramento Kings on Monday. Both teams are in a bit of a dicey situation; the Dallas Mavericks are reeling from that scuffle against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night and Luka Doncic’s calf strain from Christmas. At the same time Sacramento dismissed their coach over the weekend as well.
Dallas got no stops on Saturday against the Blazers and blew a chance to win after Irving scored 46 points. P.J. Washington will return from suspension for this game, a player that has been the defensive enforcer since joining the Mavs in February. They would also like to have Dereck Lively II back from a hip contusion that he received in the game with the Timberwolves in the last two fixtures. Well, that would perfectly fit to be thrown at Domantas Sabonis those two.
The Kings dismissed their 2003-2004 Coach of the Year Mike Brown on Friday due to five home game losing streak. They were routed by 10 on Saturday night in their first game since dismissing Brown, a game where DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, and De ‘Aaron Fox scored at least 20 points. They just could not stop Anthony Davis who had it up to 36 making a double double with 15 rebounds and 8 assists. Mike Brown was doing what he could to address the issues with their defense, which absolutely exacerbates the fact that they let 132 points without him in the first game.
But Dallas’ defense should aim at replicating their performance they showed on Friday against Phoenix who was led by Kevin Durant and were able to score only 89 points. If Sacramento plays like they did Saturday, the Mavs could be in for a long one, though.
Luka Doncic has been sidelined by the Mavericks for a considerable period of time due to an injury. Kyrie Irving will now be responsible for the majority of the scoring. This season, Irving averages 24.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. Irving averages 26.8 points and 5.8 assists per game when Doncic isn't playing. Irving has scored 39, 20, and 46 points in the three games after Doncic's injury on Christmas Day. The Mavericks need him to continue that Monday night because he fills in for Doncic when he is not available.
This season, Dallas has managed to limit opponents to 111.5 points per contest. You can anticipate that aspect of their game to be steady because Doncic's absence does little to harm the defense. This season, the Mavericks have managed to hold opponents to fewer than 115 points 17 times. In those games, their record is 13–4. When held below 115 points, the Kings are 4-12 this season. The Mavericks will have a strong opportunity to win the game if they can keep Sacramento below that point total on Monday night.
Sacramento is undergoing considerable adjustments as a result of Mike Brown's recent firing by the Kings. They were obviously growing impatient because this was during a six-game losing run. The Kings must figure out how to play a little bit better defense in light of those adjustments. Fortunately, the Mavericks score slightly less when Luka Doncic isn't playing. When Doncic was injured on Christmas, Dallas actually scored fewer than 100 points, and they did it again the next game. With Doncic out, the Kings will have a strong opportunity to win if they can lock up Kyrie Irving.
Going into Monday, Sacramento is in the best possible health. Although Domantas Sabonis is the team's skipper, other standout players include De'Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan. Particularly in recent years, this big three should be performing far better than they are. Fox has been the team's top scorer during their losing run. DeRozan is scoring less than 15.0 points per game, though. The Kings need him to play better because it is not like him. The Kings will be able to win if DeRozan can play well.
