Mavericks vs. Pelicans Preview: 3 things to watch as New Orleans visits Dallas

The streak is over! The Dallas Mavericks' (22-17) season-high win streak of seven games ended abruptly at the hands of the Boston Celtics Thursday night. However, Dallas looks to rebound from that loss and welcome the New Orleans Pelicans (24-15) to the American Airlines Cnter. The Pelicans are playing Dallas on the second night of a back-to-back after losing a close game Friday night against the Nets.

The Mavericks have listed Luka Doncic as Day-To-Day with left ankle soreness, but Marc Stein says he’s probable as of this writing. In addition, the Pelicans will play this game without two of their heavy hitters. Brandon Ingram is listed out with a toe injury, and Zion Williamson is dealing with a hamstring injury.

Take your opponent seriously

Those may not remember the Mavericks did lose to the Pelicans earlier this season 113-111 without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram playing. The short-handed Pelicans led the game as much as 16 before Dallas decided to wake up and make the game competitive. Dallas was outscored in the paint 56-54 despite the Pelicans missing two more prominent stars. They need to be awake earlier.

Sound the alarm on Reggie Bullock

It's time to have a serious conversation about Reggie Bullock. After putting zero points for the eighth time this season (in 37 minutes too), I'm worried Reggie may not have it this season. We could forgive the offensive production if the effort were there on the defensive end, but Reggie has fallen off a cliff defensively. Reggie ranked 8th in the 2022 postseason with 707 total minutes played. Could that workload be catching up with the 31-year-old?

All hands on deck

With Luka Doncic having a bad wheel, it would be great if the team good rally around Luka with a solid team effort. Wood, Hardaway, and Bullock combined for only 20 points Thursday night against Boston. This trio being productive would benefit the Mavericks greatly. The Pelicans managed to have eight players score in double figures compared to the only three from the Mavericks back in late October.

How to watch?

You can watch or stream the game on BallySports SouthWest at 7:00 pm CST.