GAME THREAD: Dallas Mavericks at Charlotte Hornets

WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs. Orlando Magic

WHAT: Overcoming being shorthanded to get a winning record.

WHERE: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. CT

HOW: Fox Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass

THE STORY: There’s many ways we could go with this. The most obvious, looming story is the Dallas Mavericks are without FIVE of their top rotation players due to the COVID-19 protocols. Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, and Dorian Fonney-Smith are all out.

BUT! It’s also the return of Kristaps Porzingis. And that Luka Doncic fellow still exists. So in some ways this is a very interesting test case. The Mavericks still have their best two players and a cast of back-end bench players. If they secure a win over the spicy Charlotte Hornets, well, that would be interesting. But if they lose, it’s some proof that it really does matter who surrounds Doncic and Porzingis.

Then again, I could be full of it. Either way, I’m glad the Dallas Mavericks are playing basketball.