Mavs-Cavs preview: Fighting fatigue becoming a true concern

CLEVELAND – One of the silver linings from all the injuries the Mavericks have endured is that a lot of players who may not have planned on playing big roles are getting valuable experience on how to handle meaningful minutes on the court.

That’s a good thing. But it also comes with a price, because those players – usually younger and inexperienced – have to learn on the fly.

Mistakes happen. And there are other considerations, too.

“We’ve been up and down in terms of minutes played,” said Kyrie Irving. “That’s probably where the frustration lies. A lot of guys are playing minutes that are meaningful and they’re doing it consistently.

“And I don’t think coming into the season they expected to be playing all those minutes. But now that we’re here . . . that’s going to eat away at you, naturally. You got some fatigue in here.”

The Mavericks are, indeed, a tired-looking team. How could they not be? In addition to fetching players from deep on the bench, the rotation players have been asked to play more minutes, which they’ll never gripe about.

But the extra usage takes its toll physically over the long haul.

The Mavericks got some help when Dante Exum returned against Detroit on Friday from right wrist surgery. He’ll be brought along slowly, but it’s another veteran who knows how to handle situations.

The schedule is doing the Mavericks no favors. They have not had legitimate practice time in weeks and won’t on this road trip, which continues in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon and goes on to Philadelphia Tuesday and Boston Thursday.

The Cleveland game will pose a major threat as the Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 39-9.

“As big as the rest of them,” P.J. Washington said of meeting the Cavaliers. “We just got to go out there and try to get a W just like any other game. Obviously, they’re one of the best teams in the league right now. Our attention to detail needs to be at an all-time high. And we can’t really afford to turn the ball over and give up second-chance points.”

That was a direct reference to Friday’s 15-point loss in Detroit, when the Mavericks at times were manhandled in the paint.

Here’s what else to watch for as the Mavericks make their only visit to Cleveland this season:

• This is their first visit to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse since the Max Strus 55-foot heave at the buzzer that splashed into the net and stunned the Mavericks 121-119 on Feb. 27. It wasn’t long after that when the Mavericks took off with 11 wins in 12 games, mostly on the road.
• After a brief swoon that included three consecutive losses (two of them to Houston), the Cavaliers have righted themselves with three wins in a row, all by at least 19 points. The latest of those came Thursday 137-115 over the Atlanta Hawks. In that game, the Cavs had a 49-36 rebounding advantage and they are one of the NBA’s best rebounding teams with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley leading that charge.
• The Cavaliers are No. 1 in the NBA in overall offensive rating and No. 2 in scoring at 122.2 points per game. The Cavs are led by guards Donovan Mitchell (23.9 points) and Darius Garland (21.8) in the scoring department. Both have been selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, as has Mobley.
• When they won in Dallas on Jan. 3 by 134-122, the Cavaliers punctured the Mavericks behind Mobley’s 34 points and 10 rebounds.
• The Mavericks are 4-4 in their last eight games and could it be as simple as their shooting determining their success or failure? When they have made 14 or more three-pointers in that stretch, they are 4-0. When they have made 11 or fewer, they are 0-4.
• Cleveland has been missing Dean Wade (knee) is out. Isaac Okoro (shoulder) and Caris LeVert (wrist) were out against Atlanta on Thursday. The Mavericks continue to be without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle), Maxi Kleber (right foot) and Dwight Powell (hip), although Powell is on the trip, giving some hope that he can return in one of the next three games.
• The Cavaliers are favored by 10½ points and the over/under is 236.5 points.

DALLAS MAVERICKS (26-23) at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (39-9)

WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland.

TV: KFAA 29, MAVSTV STREAM.

RADIO: KEGL 97.1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @ESefko