3 things to watch as the Mavericks face the Pelicans

The Dallas Mavericks play a basketball game Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Here’s what we’re watching for.

Mavericks home cooking

Dallas hasn’t been a good team at home for most of the season. They’re playing a home game. Let’s see what happens.

No Zion?

The Pelicans played Tuesday night against the Timberwolves and Zion Williamson played 33 minutes. New Orleans has been very careful with their prodigy after his return from a knee injury a month or so ago.

He hasn’t played in any back-to-backs since his return and he likely won’t play against the Mavericks. That’s a bummer for anyone who bought tickets as this was the last chance for Dallas fans to catch a glimpse of Zion.

This should make the game easier for the Mavericks. Hopefully they win.

Recovering from a bad loss

Despite missing key players Monday night in Chicago, the Mavericks suffered a bad loss to an also shorthanded Bulls team. Dallas had bad energy in the second half and were lucky to have a chance to win the game on a Luka Doncic half-court heave at the buzzer thanks to some catastrophic Bulls errors.

So Dallas really needs to get back on track against a tired Pelicans team likely missing their best player.

How to watch

Tip off is set for 8:30 p.m. CST because this is a national TV game, and can be watched on Fox Sports Southwest, ESPN or NBA League Pass. Or not. You could just stare at the ceiling or something.