Dallas' meeting with Chicago (6-4) tonight will mark the first nationally televised game of the season, the game will air on ESPN. The Mavericks have produced great results against the Bulls over the past several years. The two teams met twice in the preseason and the Mavericks won both meetings. They also swept the season series against the Bulls last season. Dallas has won 21 of the last 24 regular season meetings against Chicago since 1998. On top of that, the Bulls have not fared well at the AAC, losing their last five meetings to the Mavericks. The last time the Bulls beat the Mavericks in Dallas was on Feb. 8th, 2005 (107-100).
Head Coach Rick Carlisle understands what the Mavericks are dealing with when they're facing the Bulls. "To me, they (Chicago) have the highest motor of any team in the league," Carlisle said in regards to tonight's opponent. "Their energy level stays up, both offensively and defensively, so that makes them extremely difficult to guard and it also makes them hard to score against because they have a persistence about their game. We have to be extremely aggressive and yet have the right amount of poise as well."
Based on the motor and intensity levels that the Bulls show, Rick Carlisle believes that they have experience in knowing what they should expect, "We are going to see 48 minutes of what we saw in the third quarter against New Orleans." The Hornets cranked up the energy level and zoomed past the Mavericks, outscoring them 33-17 on Wednesday night.
The Mavericks have faced Chris Paul over the past week and it doesn't get any easier tonight going up against Derrick Rose. "Right now, he's one of the best players in the game," said Carlisle. "He's one of the more difficult guys on the planet to guard. He's an MVP candidate, that's how good he is and how important he is to his team." Rose currently ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (25.5/ppg) and eighth in assists (8.5/apg).
Rick Carlisle understands the 10-game mark of the season is a good measuring point of the season but he's not focused on that, "We've had a solid start...I am not that into anyalysing the past, this is a hear-and-now type of business that we're in," said Carlisle. "Each opponent that comes in wants a piece of us. They want to try to get a win on our floor and we've got to fight, I'm focused on the fight."
Tip off is at 8:30 pm CST and the game can be seen on ESPN.