Dallas will play for the first time since Wednesday when it travels to Memphis on Saturday night. The Mavericks have alternated between wins and losses in each of their last five games and are coming off a 113-106 setback at New Orleans. Memphis snapped a three-game losing streak with a 131-110 win against Golden State on Thursday.
Dallas is not where it was hoping to be at this point of the season, failing to generate any consistency so far this year. The Mavericks won seven straight games at the end of December and added five wins in a six-game stretch in February, but they have not sustained that success. They have lost seven of their last 10 games, falling at New Orleans on Wednesday in their most recent outing. Dallas has gone 5-7 in its 12 games since acquiring star guard Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn, despite being the fifth-best offense in the league during that stretch.
Big buckets beyond the #RufflesRidge ?? @RUFFLES // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/Plh5S7hqGD
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 10, 2023
They became the first duo to score 40 points in a game in franchise history, but their defense has been predictably bad. Dallas is allowing a league-worst 51.5% clip from the floor since the Irving trade, which is up from 48%. The Mavericks are giving up the third-most points in the paint since the trade and are the second-worst rebounding team during that stretch. Irving missed practice on Friday due to personal reasons and is questionable to play on Saturday. The Mavericks are already going to be without star Luka Doncic (thigh), who averages 33.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. Tim Hardaway, Frank Ntilikina and Justin Holiday could all receive increased roles in his absence. They are facing a Memphis defense that ranks sixth, allowing 112.0 points per game.
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