4 things to watch as Dallas Mavericks take on the Denver Nuggets

Dec 6, 2022 - 1:00 PM

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The Dallas Mavericks (12-11) are riding high after crushing the Phoenix Suns at home 130-111 on Monday evening. Dallas looks to build momentum on the road against the Denver Nuggets (14-9). The Nuggets are coming into this game with losses in their last two games against Atlanta and New Orleans, both which were on the road. Per the Nugget's injury report, the dynamic Michael Porter Jr. and Jeff Green are listed out for the game. This also is the third time the Mavericks will play on the second night of a back-to-back this season.

Here are some things to watch for:

On the road again

With a road record of 2-8, the Mavericks look to win two games in a row on the road for the first time all season. The effort against the New York Knicks last Saturday was a good sign considering the Mavericks have lost to like Orlando, Washington, and Detroit on the road.

The phrase scheduled loss gets used a lot in the NBA and with Dallas getting extremely lucky with their overall schedule (who hasn’t played, rest advantages, etc.), you would like to see the Mavericks come ready to play against Denver.

Nuggets Big 3, together against the Mavericks for the first time in a while

The Mavericks had a home-and-home series against the Nuggets in mid-November where the Nuggets were without Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Dallas somehow split the games.

This time around, all three will be available. Jokic is once againt putting up monster numbers and Aaron Gordon has shot 66% from the field and averaging 17.2 points during his last five games .The Mavericks last saw Murray in March of 2021, a game which Dallas won 116-103.

Tim Hardaway Jr. has arrived

Tim Hardaway Jr. was awful this season before being inserted into the starting lineup. Since then, Tim has shot a scorching 47.6% from beyond the arc. When Hardaway is on, he adds another gear offensively to the Mavericks. Maybe this was just a simple case of Hardaway Jr. needing to get his seas legs back under him after his season-ending left foot injury last season.

Sharing is caring

The Nuggets aren't shy about sharing the ball. Denver ranks third in the NBA with 27.9 assists a game. Nikola Jokic is averaging a career-high in assists, dishing 8.9 per game, making highlight plays from the high post like these here. Dallas will have quite a challenge containing him from these spots.

How to watch

The Dallas Mavericks play the Denver Nuggets at 9:00 pm central You can watch the game locally on TNT.