Preview: Mavericks still play basketball against Cavaliers after shocking Luka Doncic trade

So, the Dallas Mavericks play basketball today. It's understandable if you didn't know, given all of the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade news. But yes, the Mavericks continue their five-game road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It wouldn't be surprising if Dallas came out with little to no energy against the Cavaliers. The Luka Doncic trade bomb is one that takes the wind out of the sails of everyone on the team. They're already coming off of a 15-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, and now seeing their best player traded with no warning will have everyone looking over their shoulder.

The Cavaliers started the season on a torrid pace but have fallen back to earth a little bit recently. They had a three-game losing streak just last week, losing twice to the Houston Rockets and once to the Philadelphia 76ers. Cleveland has rebounded since then, blowing out the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and Detroit Pistons. They were also the only team to have three players selected for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland all headed to San Francisco next week.

Cleveland beat the Mavericks 134-122 at the beginning of January in a game that never felt as close as the final score may have indicated. There's a chance this game is an even bigger blowout.