Mavericks vs. Celtics

Mavericks vs. Celtics

This has been an absolutely brutal start for the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki, after starting the year as the team’s only true No. 1 option, has missed the last four contests and is doubtful for Wednesday night’s tilt.
The good news here is that Harrison Barnes is coming into his own. Only the future will tell if his max contract proves to be a worthy investment from the Mavericks’ perspective, but he’s become the team’s leading scorer 22.3 points per game, and (possibly more importantly) is also leading the team in field-goal percentage at 49.1
The bad news in all of this is that the team as a whole is struggling mightily to put up decent points. On the year, Dallas is averaging just 94.9 points per game, which is only good enough for 28th in the league.
Defensively, Dallas is good but not elite. The team is allowing opponents to score at a rate of 101.3 points per game, which puts them at 10th in the Association.
That said, their defensive efficiency sits outside the league’s Top 10 at 12th.

The bad news for Boston is that it hasn’t looked anything like the group we thought it would be. Most expected this squad to be a top-five to top-eight team on both sides of the ball.
That simply hasn’t been the case, especially on defense where the team is allowing opponents to score 108.1 points per night — only good enough for 23rd in the NBA.
The good news is that we don’t yet know what this team is capable of because we haven’t seen it play extended minutes healthy.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Jae Crowder has been ruled out, while Al Horford, the team’s big summer free-agent signing, is questionable after missing the last seven outings.
Even Isaiah Thomas has been banged up, but he hasn’t missed any time. In fact, he is coming off a Monday night showing against the New Orleans Pelicans that saw him drop 37 points and seven assists despite being questionable entering the contest.

Tip vip only