It’s silly season, so it’s all about who can play full minutes today. I won’t be digging too much into the actual matchups today and will instead focus on motivation. Every single game today has some level of concern for some funny business.
Dallas Mavericks at Detroit Pistons
Team Totals: Mavericks 114.8, Pistons 106.3
Injury Report: Maxi Kleber (O, ankle), Marvin Bagley (O, hip), Cory Joseph (O, back), Kelly Olynyk (O, rest), Rodney McGruder (O, hip)
Mavericks projected starters: Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell
Pistons projected starters: Killian Hayes, Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Livers, Isaiah Stewart
Kidd quotes: Said Powell and Luka are like a WR-QB duo, said Luka has been able to kill drops with his tempo, said Dwight Powell is playing at a high level, said Bertans did a fine job as a five and gives them five shooters on the floor.
Casey quotes: Said Carsen Edwards was a spark plug, said they’re “playing for next year”, said Bey would’ve had a shot at 50 again but they had to play their young guys, said again he’s going to play the young guys to close the year.
Stats and Notes:
*The Mavericks are highly motivated to win games as they try to move up to the No. 3 seed. We’ve seen them rest guys in some B2B spots, but no B2B here should have them ready for full workloads. The Pistons are clearly tanking as they sit players to close the year, and we’ve seen some funny business in the last week. It’s only an 8.5-point spread, but this one could get ugly based on different levels of motivation. Although, the Pistons are on a three-game winning streak.
*Luka Doncic gets a great matchup here, as the Pistons just don’t have anyone capable of slowing him down. They do play their defensive coverages up a bit, which shouldn’t be an issue for him. If the Pistons can play well again, it could be a massive Luka night.
*No Maxi Kleber here, so this should be a good spot for Dwight Powell. The Pistons get wrecked at the basket, and the 3-point shooting shouldn’t be as valuable in this matchup.
*Coach Dwane Casey’s comments are scary here, and Casey pulling back on Bey after his big start over the weekend makes it clear the high-ceiling stuff is gone. I wouldn’t look to Cade or Bey here.
*The Pistons have even dialed back Killian Hayes at times, so there’s some risk there. The Motor City G League team is off until Friday, so there’s a chance we see some Saben Lee cutting into Hayes a bit.
*Isaiah Livers’ minutes should be pretty safe here, and the Mavs aren’t defending the 3-point line as much right now.
Brooklyn Nets (back end) at New York Knicks
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