Three things to ponder before the Dallas Mavericks once again host the Denver Nuggets

After falling to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Mavericks (22-17, 5th in the Western Conference) will look to rebound as they play host to the Denver Nuggets (23-15, 4th in the Western Conference) for the final time in the 2024-25 campaign. Sunday’s game featured the Mavericks blowing a 19-point third quarter lead, as they were outscored 45-15 in the game’s final 17 minutes. That marks the fourth time in the last nine games that the Mavericks have lost after holding a double-digit lead. With the win, Denver now leads the season series 2-1, meaning a win on Tuesday night would clinch the tiebreaker for the Nuggets.

After this one, the Mavericks have a very quick turnaround, as they’ll catch a flight to play the reeling New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night at 7pm. That means they’ll have two games tipping off within a 24-hour period. Once again, many thanks to Adam Silver and the NBA for their remarkable schedule! However, New Orleans is coming in from Chicago at the same time, so it’ll be survival of the fittest in that one. However, first things first, let’s preview this final matchup between Denver and Dallas.

Finding a new 4th quarter process

Prior to Sunday’s human Chernobyl performance in the 4th quarter, the Dallas Mavericks had won their last 47 games when leading after the 3rd quarter, which was by far the longest streak in the NBA. As Jason Kidd said postgame, the ball often got stuck on offense, leading to horrible isolation looks and easy transition offense for Denver. It didn’t help that when Dallas did have good process, they missed shots anyways, but when things start snowballing it’s hard to pull up out of the tailspin. Dallas needs to focus on ball and player movement in the halfcourt to generate looks for guys like Klay Thompson on the perimeter and Dereck Lively in the two-man game. I think if they’re in that spot again on Tuesday, it’ll look much better.

Kyrie returns?

For what feels like the first time in months, the Dallas Mavericks have finally received good news on the injury front. Kyrie Irving, who has missed the last five games, has been upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s tilt with the Nuggets. While it’s no guarantee that he plays, the Mavs rarely upgrade a player to questionable unless they feel good about his chances of playing.

Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images

Adding Irving’s nearly 25 points per game back to the lineup would be a huge boost for this team. It’d slide guys like Spencer Dinwiddie and Jaden Hardy into more comfortable roles, allowing them to excel against second units. In the starting unit, Irving’s presence would allow for more space for Klay Thompson to operate in and give Dereck Lively yet another partner in the two-man game. It can’t be understated how impactful he is in the lineup, but it’s important that he be 100% healthy before coming back. Here’s to hoping that this lumbar/disc issue is one that can be maintained and not become a nagging thing for the rest of the year.

Dueling bigs

While Nikola Jokic and Dereck Lively are the headliners at the center position, Sunday’s game really came down to the fact that the Mavericks won the Nikola Jokic minutes (+2) and yet somehow got boat raced in the DeAndre Jordan minutes (-14). Denver’s second unit was definitely improved with the addition of Aaron Gordon into it, but even still that is a split that simply can’t happen. The Mavericks desperately need Lively, who picked up five fouls on Sunday, to be on court to contain the Nuggets attack. Both Daniel Gafford and Maxi Kleber, while certainly serviceable, aren’t anywhere near as impactful as Lively.

Speaking of, raise your hand if you thought Dereck Lively would go nearly assist for assist with one of the premier passers in the league? If you raised your hand, quit lying to yourself. But either way, Lively was fantastic in that regard on Sunday in setting a career high of 8 assists, one off of Jokic’s 9. I’m excited to see what D-Live can follow it up with.

How to watch

This is a late tipoff at 8:30p due to the game being nationally televised on TNT. However, the game will still be shown on KFAA Channel 29 & Mavs TV here in the Metroplex, if that’s more of your speed. Either way, grab some coffee or your favorite cold beverage and let’s go steal a win.