The battle of teams streaking in the wrong direction will take place in American Airlines Arena tonight in Dallas, Texas. The Memphis Grizzlies will take a four-game losing streak (all at home) on the road to the Dallas Mavericks, who are on a three-game losing streak.
A month after the shocking trading of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks find themselves at a crossroads after Kyrie Irving tore his ACL earlier this week, and Anthony Davis has been out since the first game he played with an adductor strain. While the 10th-seeded Dallas Mavericks try to hold off the Phoenix Suns for the final play-in spot, the Grizzlies are looking to remain in the top four.
Fortunately, Memphis caught a break with their injuries this week with Jaren Jackson Jr. being ruled out week-to-week after spraining his ankle the same night of Irving's unfortunate injury. Both teams are trending in the wrong direction, which makes for an interesting matchup.
How to watch Grizzlies at Mavericks
With all the games flexed out of the national TV schedule, the Grizzlies and Mavericks survived as the additional injuries to their stars didn't occur until this week. The game will be televised on ESPN at 6:30 PM CST local time. Streaming options to watch include FuboTV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV for those without cable.
Injury Report
While Jaren Jackson Jr. remains out for his second straight game, the Grizzlies didn't have Ja Morant listed on the injury report after his return from a deltoid contusion in their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Santi Aldama remains questionable for the third straight game with calf soreness.
The Dallas Mavericks continue to be without Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford. Added to the report is P.J. Washington who is out with an ankle sprain, along with Jaden Hardy with the same injury. Dante Exum is questionable with a foot contusion, and Caleb Martin is questionable to make his Mavericks debut with a hip strain.
Matchup to Watch For:
Desmond Bane vs Klay Thompson
The battle of the sharpshooters takes the spotlight for tonight's matchup as Klay Thompson is the Mavericks' best offensive player remaining in the lineup. Desmond Bane will look to rebound from a 5-14 shooting performance against the Thunder after securing his first career triple-double the game before against the Hawks.
Klay Thompson is averaging his lowest point total since his rookie season but is coming off a 28-point performance in their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Look for the Grizzlies and Desmond Bane to key in on Thompson and try to tire him out on the defensive end to snap their four-game losing streak.