The Mavs have a tall test this evening against one of the league’s hottest teams. Anything could happen....right?
Russell Westbrook
That’s it. Russell Westbrook is reason enough to watch anything.
I would watch Russell Westbrook knit a sweater because he would do so with more aggression and tenacity than anyone who has ever knit a sweater previously, my own grandmother excepted, and be aiming for some sort of sweater knitting award that he could hold into the face of all of his enemies.
Westbrook is probably going to win the NBA’s MVP Award this season because it’s March and he is still averaging a triple-double on the season, which is just a tiny bit more impressive than averaging 10 assists (!) by itself or averaging 31 points (!) by itself or a Point Guard averaging 10 rebounds.
Another tall test for Dirk
Dirk Nowitzki has been not great lately. He’s averaging 9.6 points per game the last three times he’s gotten on the court, which would be more terrifying if that didn’t come against Hassan Whiteside, Dwight Howard, and Marc Gasol / Zach Randolph.
The bad news is that things aren’t getting better for Dirk in terms of competition just yet, because Steven Adams and Taj Gibson are probably in the category of "ideal matchup for anyone rooting against Dirk" by themselves, and now they’re on the same team.
30,000 (or, Dirty-Thousand?) is going to come, but it’s going to come slowly.
Will Wes Play?
Wes Matthews has missed a few games with....I don’t know. Some injury. What am I, a doctor?
He’s crucial in this one, because he’s would likely be the first guy called upon to try and slow down the half-man, half-train named Russell Westbrook. Unfortunately, Wes is still questionable.
Both Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell will likely struggle with Westbrook’s size, so this could be yet another big opportunity for Dorian Finney-Smith to cement himself as a star on defense.
How to watch
Tonight’s game tips off at 7:30pm Central on ESPN, Fox Sports Oklahoma, and Fox Sports Southwest.