Preview: Mavericks try to move on from Luka Doncic trade against Philadelphia 76ers

The Dallas Mavericks have to play a basketball game on Tuesday night. After their showing in Cleveland on Sunday immediately after the Luka Doncic trade, who knows how this game will go? Is 48+ hours enough time to gather their feelings a little? We'll find out against the Philadelphia 76ers, who have lost their last two games against the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics (where just about every key piece sat out).

It's hard to take too much away from Dallas' loss to the Cavs on Sunday afternoon. No one from the Mavericks wanted to be there, and they had a starting lineup of Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Klay Thompson, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Kylor Kelley. No one expected the Mavs to be competitive in that game, but I'm also not sure anyone expected them to be down by 53 at some point in that game, or be down 50-19 after the first quarter. But who can blame them given the news of Doncic's trade? Anthony Davis will be with the team for this game, but he won't play as he fights an abdominal strain.

The 76ers are trying to fight back from a dismal start to the season as Joel Embiid and Paul George have been fighting through injuries. Before their recent two-game skid, they had won four straight, with wins over the Lakers and Cavs in there. This is still a talented team, even if the record may not suggest it. Tyrese Maxey has been tremendous, averaging 27.7 PPG, but Paul George has been a major disappointment.

This is the first meeting between Philly and Dallas this season.