Porzingis is OUT for Mavs at Hornets GAMEDAY: When Will Dallas Start To Finish?
When last we checked in with your Dallas Mavericks, they were 1) wondering whether the NBA Trade Deadline was a distraction that contributed to a "crappy'' Wednesday home loss to a .500 Memphis team, 2) Hitting the road in Washington and finding themselves losing at the buzzer to the "crappy'' Wizards, and 3) Pondering how soon they'll figure out how to finish out winnable games.
"We better hurry up, man,'' said Dorian Finney Smith.
Tonight, on the second of a road back-to-back challenge, Dallas gets to pick up where it left off - or, preferably, picks up in a better place than where it left off when it allowed a Bradley Beal layup with .2 seconds remaining to steal a win.
Game Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte
TV/Radio: FSSW, 103.3 FM, Univision, 1270 AM (Spanish)
Records: Mavericks (31-21), Hornets (17-32)
The Mavs' slippage is real. In their last 21 games they are 10-11. In their last six games they are 2-4 in their last six. Losing at home to a mediocre Memphis team goes into the "shouldn't-happen'' category. So does losing to Washington at any time.
Not having Luka Doncic (who will miss this game with his ankle but could return shortly after) is a reason for all of this ... but not an excuse.
The Mavs continue to find different ways to manufacture offense, and remain among the league leaders because of that. Example: Seth Curry scored 20 points for the Mavericks on Friday (albeit in an inefficient but 6-of-18 manner. They also continue to need Kristaps Porzingis to do otherworldly things - like post a string of three consecutive 30/10 games as he did before the Wizards and foul trouble limited him to 11 points and nine rebounds at DC.) That won’t happen for KP tonight, however, as he is listed as out due to “load management.”
The Hornets will come in tonight well-rested, having not played since Tuesday. That was a fourth consecutive loss, part of a skid that has them losing 12 of their last 13. A sidebar here: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a Charlotte buyout candidate and might be switching locker rooms!
The post-Kemba Walker Hornets are hardly star-studded, but Terry Rozier and Devonte Graham are each averaging 18 points per game.
Besides the beat'ability of the Hornets, Dallas can hang its hat on its bounce-back'ability. On the second night of B2Bs, the Mavs are 5-3. On paper, all that adds up to the likelihood of a successful night here. But this week, once Dallas moved off the paper and onto the court, things turned "crappy.'' So ... we'll watch and see and analyze tonight.
