Klay Thompson went so far as to call Monday’s clash with the Sacramento Kings a must-win game.
It might be a tad early to make such declarations, but given the Mavericks’ situation, maybe not.
The Kings come to town having won three games in a row to move ahead of the Mavericks in the Western Conference standings. With the Mavericks’ injury situation, there are no guarantees anywhere on the schedule these days. And with Saturday’s 132-117 loss to Milwaukee, they now are 1-1 on this home stand going into the finale.
Going 1-2 at home would be no way to keep pace in the West standings with a bevy of road games upcoming.
Ergo, Thompson’s assessment of the situation. With 21 games left, every one of them is going to carry a lot of weight for the Mavericks.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if Monday is a must-win. “We got to string together a lot of wins, especially until we get whole again. I know we’re capable. We just got to stay present and win as many home games as possible.”
The Mavericks and Kings are separated by one game in the standings. Teams six through 10 in the West are bunched tightly. Only the No. 6 seed will be guaranteed to be in the playoffs. The other four teams will have to slug it out in the play-in tournament.
Worse, the Mavericks already have lost the tiebreaker against Sacramento, having gone 0-2 so far this season against them. They only meet three times.
Here’s what else to look for in Monday’s matchup:
- The injury situation could be tough for the Kings, as well as the Mavericks. Center Domantas Sabonis left Saturday’s game in Houston a minute into the action with a hamstring injury. He has been ruled out for Monday’s game.
- The injury didn’t stop the Kings from roughing up the Rockets 113-103 in Houston. It was the kind of game that made the Kings happy they traded for Jonas Valanciunas before the deadline last month. He came in and piled up 15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks in 30 minutes.
- The Kings have played well since Doug Christie took over as coach, going 18-10 (they were 13-18 previously under Mike Brown). They have won six of their last eight and one of those was a 129-128 overtime decision in Dallas on Feb. 10, just a week after the shockwaves of the Luka Dončić trade rocked the NBA. In that game, DeMar DeRozan had 42 points and Sabonis had 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
- More recently, the Kings have won three in a row, including the first two games on this four-game trip that concludes at Denver. They vanquished Utah before winning at Houston.
- After this game, the Mavericks have nine of their next 13 on the road. It starts in Milwaukee on Wednesday when they have a rematch against the Bucks after Saturday’s loss.
- Kyrie Irving has been sizzling of late, averaging 30.7 points over his last seven games. The Mavericks also have had nine other players score at least 15 points once during that stretch. Versatility has been much stronger than consistency. It’s been a hodgepodge when it comes to finding a second scoring option and it won’t P.J. Washington, who has been ruled out with a right ankle sprain. Also out are Anthony Davis (adductor), Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Daniel Gafford (knee).
SACRAMENTO KINGS (31-28) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (32-29)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Monday.
WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas.
TV: WFAA, KFAA 29, MAVSTV STREAM.
RADIO: KEGL 97.1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @ESefko
Share and comment