Mavericks hit West Coast again looking for late night revenge against Sacramento Kings

The Dallas Mavericks were home for two games, and now they're back on the West Coast again to play the Sacramento Kings. Before that two-game homestand, the Mavericks had lost three straight road games, all out West, including a loss to the Kings. They'll have a chance to make up for that loss on Tuesday night.

Dallas has not played well on the road this season, only sitting at 3-13 in road games this year, and those three wins were against the Washington Wizards, LA Clippers, and somehow the Denver Nuggets. They're being outscored by an average of 7 PPG away from home, so they have to be at least three possessions better, on average, than they have been so far.

Cooper Flagg may be hitting the rookie wall, as he's only averaged 12.3 PPG while shooting 29.8% from the floor and 10% from three over the last three games. Those are a far cry from the numbers that managed to get him his second straight Rookie of the Month award in December. His playmaking has seen an uptick, as he's averaging 7.0 APG in that span, but he needs to be a more efficient scorer as the team looks to retool around him.

Jan 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) laughs during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Max Christie has taken a big jump, however. Jason Kidd has challenged him to be more aggressive, and he's averaging 22.3 PPG while shooting 65.8% from the floor and 55% from three over these last three games. Coach Kidd wants him to take 10+ threes per game, and he's only taken about 6.7 per game in this stretch, so it'll be interesting to see if he starts shooting a lot more.

Sacramento has lost five straight games since beating the Mavericks at home last Saturday, and they've lost those five games by an average of 24.6 PPG. They lost to the Clippers by 41 points. I know the Clippers have found their stride recently, but that's still an absurd number.

The Kings are still playing without All-Star center Domantas Sabonis, who has missed time with a partial meniscus tear. He's someone who could be on the move in a trade as the deadline approaches.