Mavs-Pistons preview: Time to get well, physically and in the standings

There’s a scene in the musical Hamilton when general George Washington tells Alexander Hamilton that “dying is easy, young man, living is harder.”

It’s the same with winning in the NBA. It’s a lot harder than losing. But it’s a lot more fun, too.

The Mavericks need to have some fun during this two-game stay at American Airlines Center when they will play two of the truly struggling teams in the NBA.

They get New Orleans on Thursday and the Pelicans have been the definition of hapless since Zion Williamson went out with a hamstring injury.

But first, the Mavericks get the Detroit Pistons, who are neck-and-neck with Houston for the worst record in the NBA.

The Pistons are lucky to have Dwane Casey as their coach. The former Toronto coach and Maverick assistant on the championship team in 2011 has gone through rebuilding projects before and knows that patience is the key.

Toronto won 23 games in Casey’s first season with the Raptors. Four years later, they were in the Eastern Conference finals.

He also understands fully the risks of leading a team that is headed for its fourth consecutive lottery appearance.

That said, there’s nothing you can do about injuries and when Cade Cunningham went down after 12 games and needed surgery on his shin, the Pistons’ season was shot.

The point is that the Mavericks have no wiggle room in these two games. They need wins over the Pistons and the Pelicans to set themselves up to make some headway on a five-game trip that starts Saturday at Golden State.

Overall, the Mavericks have nine games left before the All-Star break and putting some space between them and .500 is critical.

“It’s not an easy schedule,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We play most of them on the road, so this gives us an opportunity to improve our road record, but it’s not going to be easy. And then health. We would like to get healthy here before the break so that we can start fully healthy and ready to go after the (All-Star) break.”

That includes Luka Dončić. A major question – but not one that should prohibit winning – is whether Dončić will be back after missing virtually all of the two-game trip the Mavericks just completed. He injured his left ankle in the first four minutes at Phoenix. The Mavericks won that game, then lost in Utah.

Going 1-1 without (for the most part) Luka should help this team’s confidence immensely.

That said, getting their All-Star point guard back would be a welcomed sight.

Here’s what else to watch for in Monday’s meeting with Detroit:

• On top of being in rebuilding mode, the Pistons also are banged up with Cunningham out for the season and Marvin Bagley out indefinitely. One guy who has not been out is Saddiq Bey and the third-year forward has been on a roll, hitting double-figures in each of the last eight games and averaging 20.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in that span. He’s also hitting 38.5 percent in that stretch from three-point range.
• The Pistons are coming off Saturday’s home loss to the Houston Rockets, 117-114. In that game Alec Burks had 21 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 18. Both shooting specialists have been discussed in trade rumors lately.
• The Mavericks are hoping to get Christian Wood (thumb fracture) and Dončić back soon, but with two days off before Thursday’s meeting with New Orleans, another game off might be beneficial to both.
• The Mavericks had one of their worst losses of the season at Detroit on Dec. 1 when they lost 131-125 in overtime in Michigan. Dončić did not play in that game. The Mavericks have not lost to the Pistons in Dallas since 2016.
• It would be great news for many reasons if Dončić plays, but particularly so because he averages 32.8 points in six meetings against the Pistons – his highest scoring average against any team.
• DETROIT PISTONS (13-38) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (26-25)
• When: 7:30 p.m., Monday.
• Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas.
• TV: Bally’s Sports Southwest.
• Radio:1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

Twitter: @ESefko