2 things to consider as the Dallas Mavericks host the Philadelphia 76ers

The Dallas Mavericks (30-46) host the Philadelphia 76ers (49-27) Monday evening. Dallas, coming off a rare road win, looks to notch back to back wins for the first time since early February. The 76ers, firmly entrenched as the third seed of the Eastern Conference, have won eight of their last ten and are hoping to turn a win against Dallas into a three game win streak.

Dallas continues to play for pride while Philadelphia hopes to stay healthy and correct any issues as they head towards the playoffs.

Here’s what to think about before and during the game tonight:

So, uh, who is going to guard Joel Embiid?

Embiid is, simply, incredible. 27.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists. He’s dominant in a way that’s counter to the way most NBA teams succeed these days. His downfall, if there is one, is his love of the three point line. He shouldn’t shoot them and yet he does.

So if Embiid lives in the post, Dallas is toast, since Dwight Powell, Salah Merji, Dirk Nowitzki, and Maxi Kleber can’t hope to stop or contain him.

Winning doesn’t help Dallas. Neither does losing.

The tank brigade’s kept a high key watch on the “battle” for the fifth worst record between the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks. When the Hawks won again Sunday, the race became real. But only for a moment. With the Maverick win over the Thunder, that gives Dallas a 2.5 game lead on Atlanta with six games for the Mavericks and five for the Hawks.

The problem for Dallas is the Wizards, Grizzlies, and Pelicans are all right behind Dallas and tanking hard. This sucks, is what I’m saying, because rooting for losses is terrible.

Bonus thing!

Really, since I’m writing this I could’ve just put another number in the headline but this isn’t actually about the game.

There’s just so little to write about. I really like watching Dirk and Brunson and Rick’s scowls. But there’s so little to say. Let’s just try to make it through together.

How to watch

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. central. You can watch it on TXA 21 locally or NBA League Pass otherwise.