Monday night’s matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will be the battle of the .500 records, as both teams come in at 15-15 through 30 games. The shorthanded Dallas squad is coming off a 100-99 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, while the Timberwolves are coming off a 150-126 thumping of the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
The Mavs will for sure be without Josh Green (elbow strain) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring tear) for Monday’s game, and Luka Doncic (quad strain), Tim Hardaway Jr. (non-Covid illness), Dāvis Bertans (non-Covid illness) and Dwight Powell (thigh contusion) are all questionable.
The Timberwolves have some injuries as well, as Karl-Anthony Towns (calf strain), Rudy Gobert (ankle sprain), Taurean Prince (shoulder subluxation) and Jordan McLaughlin (calf strain) all missed Sunday’s win over the Bulls. We’ll see what those players’ availability looks like as the day progresses. Naz Reid had to leave that Chicago game due to trapezius tightness and never returned, so he could be out against the Mavs as well.
Monday marks the first game of the Mavs’ three-game road trip, which leads up to their Christmas Day showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center on Sunday. Given that this road trip consists of two games again a hobbled Timberwolves squad and one game against a Houston Rockets team that’s sitting at dead-last in the Western Conference standings, the Mavs would love nothing more than to be sitting at three games over .500 before facing off against LeBron James on Christmas.
But getting to that point starts with getting a win on Monday night, and the Mavs have to be prepared to take care of business. Dallas is just 3-10 on the road so far this season, but there’s no time like the present to turn that around.
After Saturday’s loss to Cleveland, coach Jason Kidd left the door open for Christian Wood to potentially start alongside Doncic going forward after two consecutive encouraging performances from the versatile big man. The hope is that Kemba Walker, who had his first breakout game with 32 points and seven assists against the Cavs, can start to become a main fixture in the Mavs’ rotation as well. We’ll see if Kidd is ready to make some of these changes he’s talked about lately.
Here’s everything else you need to know about tonight’s game:
NOT-SO-FUN FACT: The Mavs have lost their last three games at Target Center dating back to May 16, 2021. Dallas has lost those three games by an average of 14 points per loss. Hopefully the return of a rested Doncic can help change the Mavs’ recent luck in Minneapolis.
RECORDS: Dallas Mavericks (15-15), Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15)
WHEN: Saturday, December 19, 2022 – 7:00 pm CT
WHERE: Target Center (Minneapolis, MN)
TV: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass
RADIO: 97.1 The Freak, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
ODDS: TBD
NEXT UP: The Mavs will do it all over again as they take on the Timberwolves on Wednesday night before finishing up the three-game road trip on Friday against the Houston Rockets.
FINAL WORD: “We just got to take it one game at a time,” said Walker when asked about the two-game mini-series against the Timberwolves. “Those guys are really talented over there. Really talented young group. We just have to come prepared. I’m sure we’ll have most of our guys back. We got to lock in.”
If the Mavs don’t lock in, they’ll find themselves under .500 for the first time since their heartbreaking overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 1.
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