With a win on Tuesday vs. the Mavericks improved their record to 43-29 this season. It was an important game vs. Sacramento who are only one game behind the Mavs in the West. On Tuesday, Dallas won 132-96 on the road and played an incredible brand of basketball defensively.
That’s what the Mavericks have been doing over their last 10 games where they are 9-1. Additionally, the team is on a five-game win streak. Dallas has 10 games left this season including their game tonight. It’s another matchup vs. the Kings, this time in Dallas. Can the Mavericks continue their hot streak and play as a cohesive defensive unit?
The Mavericks are 9-1 in their last 10 games and are excelling on the defensive end
Luka Doncic on Dallas’ defense:
“We’re getting better and better on our defensive end. We have guys who can really defend. The whole team is listening, we talk a lot on defensive end, so we just got to just keep going like that.” pic.twitter.com/wFQIQceD0B
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) March 27, 2024
For the Mavericks, locking in on defense may be the key to being a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the team has proven offensive talent. Head coach Jason Kidd doesn’t need to worry about where the points come from. It’s about being able to lock in defensively and get stops on that end. If the Mavs can continue to do that, they’ll make a deep postseason run. Over their last three games, the Mavericks are allowing (99.3) points per game.
Head coach Jason Kidd added Derrick Jones Jr. and Daniel Gafford to the starting lineup 10 games ago. The team has gone 9-1 in those games and is thriving defensively. Besides Kyrie Irving, every other starter for Dallas is at least six-foot-six. That type of length on the defensive end is what can disrupt opposing teams in the playoffs. The defense will be a focal point for the rest of the season for the Mavericks if they want to go far in the postseason.
Mavericks are 9-2 with a defensive rating of 109.2, good for 5th in the NBA during that span since Tim Legler called them out for their defense…
Shoutout to Legs, who has been high on the Mavs since the trade deadline! @LegsESPN #MFFL pic.twitter.com/ER0PAUBh66
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) March 27, 2024
Tonight, the Mavericks will be at home to face the Kings in the second game of a home-and-home game. Dallas’ All-NBA PG Luka Doncic is questionable to play vs. the Kings with an Achilles injury. However, the 25-year-old has had two full days to rest and recover for tonight’s game. If Doncic does miss the game vs. the Kings, their next contest is Sunday vs. the Rockets.
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