This Saturday, the (14-14) Dallas Mavericks will travel to Cleveland, OH to take on the (18-11) Cleveland Cavaliers. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. These two teams matched up earlier this week, as the Cavaliers walked away with a 105-90 win.

The Dallas Mavericks are coming into this one after getting dominated by the Cavaliers. Dallas struggled on the offensive end of the court, as they only shot 39.2% from the field. They will have to be more efficient on the offensive end if they want to bounce back on the road.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering this matchup after dismantling the Dallas Mavericks. They shot 52.6% from the floor, and they will have to replicate that performance in this one if they want to give the Mavericks a run for their money at home.

Can the Cavs Bounce Back?
The Dallas Mavericks are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Grizzlies by five games. On offense, they are scoring 111.1 points per game and they are shooting 46.6% from the floor. This is the 21st most points scored per contest and the 18th-highest shooting percentage from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Mavs have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.1, which is the ninth-highest rating in the NBA. Luka Doncic continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 33 points per game on 49.6% shooting from the field. Dallas has also shown that they have multiple players that can get hot from behind the arc. They are shooting 35.7% from three, which is the 15th-highest team three-point shooting percentage. Unfortunately, the Mavericks have not taken care of business at the charity stripe. They have only made 72.7% of their shots at the line, which is the 28th-highest free-throw shooting percentage in the league. They can’t continue to miss out on these free points and still expect to consistently win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Mavericks have continued to lock up. They are currently allowing their opponents to score 109.6 points per game and they are shooting 48.5% from the floor. This is the sixth least amount of points surrendered per game, but the 28th-highest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Mavs have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.6, which is the 16th lowest rating in the NBA. They aren’t allowing a lot of points, but their opponents are still shooting well from the field. The Mavericks have struggled to defend the three-point line, as they are allowing their opponents to shoot 37% from deep. This is the 24th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed, as they have to contest more shots on the perimeter. Dallas is also snatching 38.6 rebounds per game, which is the least in the league. They have to secure the ball after missed shots if they want to stay competitive in this game.

Injury Report: Maxi Kleber PF (Hamstring), Josh Green SG (Elbow) are listed as out. Davis Bertas SF (Illness) is questionable.

Can the Cavs Keep it Rolling?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Boston Celtics by four games. On offense, the Cavs are scoring 110.7 points per game and they are shooting 47.7% from the floor. This is the 24th most points scored per contest, but the 11th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Cavs have an adjusted offensive rating of 113.4, which is the 12th-highest rating in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 29.2 points per game on 50.2% shooting from the field. The Cavaliers have also shown that they have multiple players that can make it rain from deep. They are shooting 36.8% from behind the arc, which is the ninth-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Cleveland has also taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they have made 80.4% of their shots at the line. This is the eighth-highest team free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA, as they can’t miss out on these free points and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Cavaliers are allowing 104.6 points per game and their opponents have only shot 45.5% from the floor. This is the least amount of points given up per contest and the sixth-lowest shooting percentage allowed from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Cavs have an adjusted defensive rating of 107.5, which is the lowest rating in the NBA. They have continued to contest shots near the rim and on the outside, as it hasn’t been easy to score on Cleveland this season. The Cavaliers are allowing their opponents to shoot 35% from deep, which is the 12th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. They are also grabbing 43.1 rebounds per game, which is the 15th most. They have to crash the defensive glass if they want to keep the Mavs from generating more possessions.

Injury Report: Ricky Rubio PG (knee), Dylan Windler SG (Ankle), and Dean Wade SF (Shoulder) are listed as out.