Which Mavericks player might be due for a big game?
Well, Chandler Parsons has been going off and Kawhi Leonard has been injured and not playing for the last few games, so he might go off...oh yeah, and the Mavs now have that one guy...what's his name?
Oh yeah. RAJON FREAKING RONDO, THAT'S HIS NAME.
This second matchup with the San Antonio Spurs will be Rondo's first game as a Dallas Maverick, as long as the physicals pass on time, and he's playing against a Spurs team that'll be missing their best two points guards to injury in Tony Parker and Patty Mills.
Rondo has a history of really kicking himself into gear for "important games" and I imagine his first game on a non-Boston team will qualify. He's indicated that he hopes that these Mavericks will be a championship contender with him on the floor, so I'd expect him to hit the floor looking to show his stuff, and he'll be in the perfect situation to do so: playing against a rival, an exhausted version of last years' champs, lacking the other PGs who could give him trouble is the perfect storm of things that could add up to him going totally bonkers.
At least, I certainly hope so.
What have the Spurs done recently?
The Spurs are coming into Dallas on a back-to-back, and a third game in four nights, where the first game was a triple overtime bout against the brutal grit-and-grind Grizzlies, who are sure to wear out everyone, and the second one was...also a triple overtime, against the Portland Trailblazers.
I don't think the Spurs have had a single game this season with any less than three players injured at a time, and so I have to imagine the team will at least be resting Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for this matchup, and probably for the rest of the season, to try and limit further injuries.
On the other hand, you never know. The Spurs have been unpredictable this season with regard to doling out rest, and they might decide that a nice win against Dallas here could cap out an otherwise tough series of games for them.
At any rate, San Antonio's coming into this one tired and beat up, so expect, at least, a sluggish game.
What fact might surprise you about the Spurs?
The Spurs have yet to play a game where fewer than two players are hurt, and in the vast majority of their games, three or more players have sat due to injury (not just old age). Despite this, the Spurs are still 7th in the conference standings with a win percentage well over 65 percent...and that would translate to 54 wins on the season. They're third in defensive efficiency and 10th in offensive efficiency.
The point is, they may be "underperforming," but they've been pretty badly hurt and are still kicking some butt, so no matter how exhausted they are, don't expect them to roll over.
What do the Mavericks have to do to win this Game?
Did I mention that the Mavs traded for Rajon Rondo? And that he's playing? And that the Spurs are exhausted and hurt? And they'll be in Dallas? And that they're generally struggling? I did? Good.
The Spurs aren't going to roll over. Anything but, they'll come in, as a rival, wanting to kick the Mavs' ass. But really: that's an exhausted team, and if the Mavs come in with enough energy and intensity and the fire to show off their new-look roster, they should be able to pull this one out.
For all the concerns about Rondo gelling correctly -- a huge concern, by the way -- if the Mavs come in running, running hard, and looking to really show off, this should be an immediately winnable game.