NBA Play-In Tournament: Mavericks at Kings predictions, preview, how to watch

The Dallas Mavericks have made it to the postseason, but it'll have to be a Game 7 mindset, as they come in as the 10th seed in the Play-In Tournament to play on the road against the Sacramento Kings. This is the first time that the Mavericks have been in the Play-In Tournament since its inception a few years ago, and the vibes aren't exactly high entering the game.

Dallas is 2-6 since March 31st, coming off a 132-97 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, where the Mavs essentially packed it in early and didn't play many key players outside of Daniel Gafford. The Grizzlies sat most of their key stars in that game as well, though, so it wasn't exactly a great loss. But the Mavericks chose health over potentially getting one last win on the season.

But the vibes get even lower when GM Nico Harrison and CEO Rick Welts decide to have an impromptu secret meeting with select members of the media the day before, where all they did was fan the fire of an angry fanbase from the Luka Doncic trade. This was a horrible decision and something that will become a distraction for the players on the court.

Sacramento enters the Play-In going 4-2 since April 4th, picking up a surprising win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in that span. That stretch did come on the heels of going 3-11 from March 9th to April 2nd with losses to the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, and Chicago Bulls sprinkled in, but we're not talking about that.

The Kings and the Mavericks have met three times this season, with the Kings winning all three. And in the last two matchups, two key Mavericks have gone down with significant injuries: Daniel Gafford with a sprained MCL in February (he's back now) and Kyrie Irving with a torn ACL in March.