NBA Matchups: January 26

Dallas Mavericks (front end) at Atlanta Hawks

Team Totals: Mavs 123.5, Hawks 121

Injury Report: Kyrie Irving (Q, thumb), Maxi Kleber (P, toe), Dwight Powell (O, eye), Clint Capela (Q, calf), Bruno Fernando (Q, back), Trae Young (Q, concussion), Wesley Matthews (Q, calf)

Mavs projected starters: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Derrick Jones Jr., Dereck Lively II

Hawks projected starters: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela

Kidd quotes: Said they are mentally and physically fatigued, said Book got going and they couldn’t stop him, said Luka was running hot (with the refs), said they let Luka be Picasso and sometimes he doesn’t have enough paint, said the officials won’t call as many fouls to help the guys who complain all the time, said Exum was fine “just like everybody else”.

Snyder quotes: Mostly talked about the emotional part of the GSW game, said he thought they had a lot of effort out there and they were getting back (reporter said they were not getting back), said Kuminga and Wiggins on Dejounte gave them problems in the second half, said they have to drive the ball more with Dejounte.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Mavs are a little banged up overall, so the health piece is the biggest part of the equation. That aside, the Mavs are a dumpster fire defensively, ranking 29th in D rating in their last nine games. They are getting beat up on the boards, and they’re even 29th in halfcourt D rating. The Mavs are giving up more 3-pointers these days, and they are getting beat up inside. The Hawks should be able to score in bunches. For the Hawks, it’s the same story with terrible rim defense at fourth worst on the year and they’re still third worst for transition points. One area they have been a little better has been against 3-point shooting, which is a huge part of the Dallas offense at No. 2 in frequency. This should be a friendly environment regardless of who is available.

*Kyrie Irving’s thumb is going to be a big piece of news here. If he can’t go, that’s a whole lot of usage going around. Luka Doncic was really limping around on Wednesday, and it looked like it was his left leg. Luka’s matchup is excellent with the Hawks getting beat by lead handlers, and the Hawks just don’t have a great answer for him. Despite some health concerns, Luka is in a huge spot.

*Dereck Lively should be in a huge spot regardless. The Hawks get killed inside and they don’t rebound well. There is some downside to him with Maxi Kleber getting more minutes. I’d still be in.

*The rest of this situation is too tied to Kyrie. Hopefully we get an update before the show tomorrow.

*It’s the same story with the Hawks and Trae Young. There’s a very good chance he was able to be cleared while the team was in Cali, so it’s tough to tell. We should have more input at shootaround for the show. Dejounte Murray’s role is huge without Trae at 8.2 minutes of touch time, 21.5 drives, and 16.8 potential assists in his last four games. He would be a smash sans Trae and would also be in play with Trae.

*Clint Capela’s Q tag is interesting. If he’s out along with Bruno Fernando, we might see mega-Onyeka Okongwu minutes. The matchup is excellent with the Mavs getting smoked inside. Jalen Johnson would also likely play C minutes with massive minutes. He’d be an awesome play.

*For the rest of the guys, we’ll have to wait. We’ll talk more about this on the Injury Show.

Great matchups: Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray, Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu (as a starter, fine as a backup, too)

Good matchups: Bogdan Bogdanovic (starter, Dereck Lively II)

Bad matchups: Nobody

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Houston Rockets (front end) at Charlotte Hornets (front end)