The first prime time action of the 21st week of NBA action starts with the Dallas Mavericks taking on their in-state rival San Antonio Spurs on TNT at 8 p.m. ET, and for a Spurs team that is in imminent danger of missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 1997, their time is running out.
They face a visiting Mavericks team that is not only fifth in the Western Conference but is gelling at the quintessential time. In case you haven’t noticed, the union of Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic has had the entire season to mesh, and now look as formidable of a 1-2 punch as any other across the league’s landscape. But wins have been scarce as of recently for this Mavs team, who have dropped three of their last five. Their most recent loss was to the Pacers via a 112-109 home loss, as they went scoreless in the game’s final 3 minutes and 14 seconds.
The Spurs, on the other hand, haven’t been all that successful either, and worse, have been banged up as they’ll go into this contest without All-Star Center LaMarcus Aldridge for a sixth-straight game. Their depth has taken a hit from the injury bug as well, as they’ll be without both Jakob Poeltl and backup guard Lonnie Walker IV.
Their uphill battle of getting by four other teams positioned to challenge for the eighth seed will be a difficult challenge to overcome, but as San Antonio begins a four-game homestand Tuesday, after which it will play Denver, Minnesota, and Memphis, the task of getting the job done without the likes of some of their more integral pieces against a Mavericks team primed for a deep postseason run just make the task even more daunting. The Spurs are 15-14 at home this season and would like nothing more than to knock off their Southwestern foes in the Mavericks in this primetime matchup.
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