Via: USA Today Sports
Oddly in such a “must-win” game for the Dallas Mavericks, there really isn’t much at stake… No one, credible, is calling for Coach Carlisle’s job or Donnie Nelson’s. There isn’t any consensus for who should be traded or who should be losing playing time. Several people on twitter have been calling for Carlisle to limit JJ Barea’s playing time but JJ is one of only three Mavericks with positive On/Off Offensive Rating Splits[note]Meaning the different between how efficient the Mavs offense is when JJ is on the floor and off the floor[/note]…
| Name | On | Off | Diff. |
| Powell | 117.3 | 93.1 | 24.2 |
| Barea | 106.8 | 90.5 | 16.3 |
| Curry | 103.5 | 99.6 | 3.9 |
Defensively JJ is also (somehow) one of the six Mavericks with positive On/Off Defensive Rating Splits along with Bogut, Barnes, Curry, and Deron Williams. So to just equate the Mavericks struggles to one player is lazy. If anything is to blame, Mavericks schedule has been fairly rough.
We all knew this first #Mavs week would be rough:@Pacers
vsHOU@HoustonRockets @utahjazz
vsPOR— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) October 31, 2016
Bill Simmons has a way he looks at NFL schedules that could be beneficial to this young Mavs season. He doesn’t just look at games as Win or Lose[note]Even though…yes…that’s actually how it works[/note], he calls a blowout win a ‘definite’ win, a blowout loss a ‘definite’ loss and then there are ‘either or games.’ These “Either or Games” are games like the season opener in Indiana and the game in Houston, close games that come down to the wire. So if we tracked the Mavs season with this W-L-E/O method the Mavs are… still 0-2-2… but seeing that the Mavericks were at least competitive in half of their games played so far.
What to Watch For:
What is actually at stake is Mavericks History. In their 36 seasons of existence, the Mavericks have never started 0-5. They have started 0-4 once in 06-07 and finished that season with the best record in franchise history, 67-15.
#Mavs Worst Starts to the Season:
06-07: 0-4
11-12: 0-3
93-94: 0-3
92-93: 0-3On the line tonight… #DALvsPOR
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) November 4, 2016
Key Matchups:
Damian Lillard & CJ McCollum vs Deron/JJ/Wes
There are 29 players averaging 20 points or more in the NBA. Only six teams have multiple players averaging 20 points or more per game:
Boston: Avery Bradley & Isaiah Thomas
Cleveland: Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, & Kevin Love
Golden State: Stephen Curry & Kevin Durant
Minnesota: Andrew Wiggins & Zach LaVine
Portland: Damian Lillard & CJ McCollum
Sacramento: DeMarcus Cousins & Rudy Gay
Injury Report[note]As of 5pm Game Day[/note]:
Mavericks
Devin Harris – Out
Dirk Nowitzki – Expected to Play
Deron Williams – Expected to Play
Trailblazers
Festus Ezeli – Out
Damian Lillard – Expected to Play
Allen Crabbe – Likely to Play
Game Info:
Start Time: 7:30 PM CST at American Airlines Center
Where to Watch: Fox Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass
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