Hawks at Mavs GAMEDAY Preview: Trae Young In As Dallas Continues Without Luka - and Without Porzingis
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks decided to grab-bag their way through the start of a stretch without Luka Doncic, the wonderboy who is sitting out while nursing an ankle injury (with hopes that he'll miss just five more games and play in the All-Star Game.) And we say that meaning no offense to Ryan Broekhoff, who was given his first NBA start in Friday's loss at Houston, a game in which JJ Barea was also with the first unit.
Tonight the Mavs go back to the Luka-less drawing board with a visit from the Atlanta Hawks, lowly in so many ways but for the presence of Trae Young, Luka's 2019 NBA Draft classmate and a star in his own right.
But Kristaps Porzingis is now also listed as OUT ... and there's your story: More grab-bagging.
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV/Radio: FSSW, ESPN, 103.3 FM, Univision, 1270 AM (Spanish)
Records: Mavericks (29-19), Hawks (13-36)
The NBA - and the rest of us - would've loved to have seen Luka vs. Trae, two pals who pretty much stay above the debate over whether the former is really in the same class as the latter.
Instead, Dallas will need to find another way to grab their 30th win and their coach Rick Carlisle's 500th win with the franchise.
Dallas' Kristaps Porzingis, who exploded for a 35-point effort against Houston's collection of Little People on Friday, was to be monitored on this second night of a back-to-back, a circumstance that has generally treated the Mavs well. Indeed, the Mavs are 14-4 following losses and have yet to lose three straight games - though they enter tonight having lost two straight. And indeed, "knee management'' is the reason KP will join Luka in street clothes tonight at the AAC.
Atlanta is often outmanned but the Hawks have won five of their last nine, largely due to Young, who is third in the league, scoring 29.4 points per game. And one Mavs weirdo-worry? The Mavericks are 13-12 on their home court. ... though it helps soothe worries that Atlanta is 5-20 on the road.
“It’s one of the things we’ve got to make a stand on,'' Carlisle said earlier this week. "We’ll deal with being back here on Saturday when Saturday comes.”
Saturday - bringing with it Trae Young - is here.
