Gameday: Mavericks @ Raptors, February 28

The Dallas Mavericks are headed into Scotiabank Arena tonight to face off against the Toronto Raptors in what should be a test for the young Raptors squad.

Dallas is led by none other than Luka Doncic, who is one of the best players in the NBA and he will surely be a major focal point in the game plan for Darko Rajakovic. Dallas has an offensive rating of 117.5 so their offense is extremely high powered. Doncic is a nightmare matchup for every team in the NBA, and it will take a cohesive defensive unit to keep him in check. Not only do they have Doncic but they also have Kyrie Irving who is a premier scorer in this league as well. Doncic is averaging 34.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 9.8 APG, and Irving is averaging 25.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 5.5 APG, so both are a headache. Dallas also has tertiary players who can burn you when Doncic and Irving draw attention, such as newly acquired PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. Josh Green, Derrick Lively, and Tim Hardaway Jr can also take advantage of the opportunities brought on by the Mavs star duo. Recently, Toronto’s defense has looked very strong, Jakob Poetl and Scottie Barnes have led the charge on that end, and the other tertiary players have been making the proper rotations and holding a lot of players in check offensively, such as Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young. Doncic is better than these players but the defensive principles used on Young can be used on Doncic as well, as long as the rotations are in place. Sending doubles and traps is something that Donci has seen before but it is often the best strategy if you want to limit his impact on the game and that is likely what Toronto will try to do. Jakob Poetl is questionable for this game and it would be a huge blow to Toronto’s defense to not have Poetl’s presence at the rim on the defensive end.

Dallas’ defense is their achilles heel, they have weak defenders all over the floor which has caused them to have a defensive rating of 116.6. While their offense is what wins them games, it is their defense that can lose them games, and if Toronto has any chance of winning then their offense has to hum tonight. Barnes should have a favorable matchup tonight, Dallas does not have a defender who on paper should be able to contain his size and passing ability. Barrett should also have fairly good looks at the rim. Quickley is going to have a favorable matchup in the backcourt as well and should be fairly proficient in the pick n roll tonight, but will likely have to utilize his in between game a lot. With the way the second unit players like Kelly Olynyk, Gradey Dick, and Ochai Agbaji have been playing as of late, Toronto’s offense has looked like a well oiled machine. Rajakovic’s system prioritizes off-ball movement and tonight we should see the same thing and this movement will really put pressure on Dallas’ defense.

Dallas is coming off of a back to back and suffered a crushing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, and Toronto is coming off of a days rest so that may play a factor in tonight’s results as well. But overall, it’s going to be an uphill climb for Toronto to win this game, but if they can run an efficient offense that is filled with movement, and can limit the impact of Doncic, then they have a shot to win this game.