Zaza Pachulia will play, other Mavericks starters to sit vs.Thunder

The Mavericks will sit Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams on the second night of a back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Dallas is coming off an overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that saw Nowitzki play 38 minutes and the three other starters play 41 or more. Given the quick turnaround flying to Oklahoma City last night and given that this starts a grueling three-game roadtrip against some of the NBA's best, Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks training staff opted for rest rather than a partial unit that could potentially steal a game.

While Dallas has won twice in three opportunities playing mostly backups (wins against the Rockets and the Pelicans, an early season loss against the Clippers), it's unlikely the Thunder are a candidate for a surprise win. They're the third-best team in the league and are fully healthy right now.

The loss began what might be the toughest 10-game stretch in the NBA by any team this season. At some point, Dallas will need to eek out a few wins if they want to stay over .500, but winning Wednesday's game will be a long shot. Expect a starting lineup of J.J. Barea, Raymond Felton, either Justin Anderson or John Jenkins, Charlie Villanueva and Pachulia. (There's also a chance Jeremy Evans could be run out in the starting five, but we'll see.)