The Dallas Mavericks are coming off of a big 97-88 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. They haven’t played since, which is good rest for the old bones of Dirk Nowitzki. His 20 points on Friday means he’s just 30 points away from surpassing Shaquille O’neal on the NBA all-time leading scorer list.
It’s been an interesting run for the Mavs. On paper, they’re not nearly as potent as the previous versions this team has seen, but thanks to a (somewhat) rejuvenated Deron Williams and a solid supporting cast to an ageless Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs are three games above .500 – good for fourth in the Western Conference.
The big story really is Deron Williams and co. Sure, Dirk is going to Dirk – that’s him, he’s a legend and one of the hardest players to stop in NBA history. But he can’t do it alone, and the Mavericks have somehow put together a solid team around him. In Raymond Felton and Deron Williams, the Mavs have two NBA journeyman who have learned to coexist and thrive together in the back-court, and in Wesley Matthews they have a swing-man who can defend and shoot the three in a deadly manner. And then there’s Zaza Pachulia, who’s a walking double-double.
The way the Mavs shoot the three ball could be extra problematic for the Raptors, who have a tough time guarding the perimeter – particularly without DeMarre Carroll. The Raptors allow their opponents to shoot 36% behind the arc – tied for fifth worst in the league. Carlisle will surely want to take advantage of this, as he likes to draw up all kinds of schemes to maximize the Mavs’ outside shooting talent. The classic Dirk ball-screen and fade to the perimeter is one play to watch out for. Quite frankly, the thought of Luis Scola having to guard that is terrifying, as he struggles greatly guarding stretch bigs.
The Raptors don’t have many other options though when it comes to guarding the best shooting 7-footer the NBA has ever seen. Scola may not be entirely comfortable guarding someone like Dirk on the perimeter, but he does a better job on him than Patterson does – so the small sample size against Dallas this season says, anyway.
A huge part of the Raptors’ win in that game in Dallas though was Jonas Valanciunas, who, although is back to practice, is not ready to play just yet. Valanciunas was a steady scorer all game that night, and gave Pachulia some big problems. Then again, Patrick Patterson was a corpse at the time, so maybe his resurgence could help forget about Valanciunas’ absence.
Key match-up: Kyle Lowry vs Deron Williams
While still not back to his all-star peak, Deron Williams is having a revitalized season in Dallas – a city which places far less burden on his shoulders than Brooklyn did. Williams is shooting well from three, and has become a huge part of the Mavs’ offense with his scoring and general involvement with the flow of the offense. Williams is a silky player, and it’s always been fun when Kyle Lowry goes up against him. The Raptors really need Kyle Lowry to get up for this one, as he’s struggling with his shot. We all know Kyle – he’s the type of player who won’t change the way he’s playing regardless of how poor his shooting slump is. He’s confident he can make every transition three he takes. That’s good, and ultimately, while shooting your way out of a slump seems counter-intuitive, it’s what allowed Lowry to hit some big shots in the fourth against Charlotte after a woeful shooting night. It would be important for Lowry to get involved early – whether it’s taking charges, getting others involved, or knocking down some open looks.
Tip-off is at 730 pm EST.
