Cleveland Cavaliers at Dallas Mavericks Preview

The Cavs head to Dallas to play the Mavs on Friday, then meeting them again on Sunday. Dallas is deadlocked in a race to finish ahead of L.A. and Portland. Those three clubs are competing for the final two spots, with the loser of the bunch having to move into the play-in bracket. Cleveland isn’t playing for much of anything right now.

These Cavs have now dropped eight games in a row, and nothing is truly looking up for them right now. Isaac Okoro dropped 32 points against Phoenix and proved he can do his thing. Collin Sexton is continuing to play well, regardless of what the final score is. But, Kevin Love was a -45 in the team’s last defeat, which is very hard to fathom. As bad as he’s been, this is rock bottom.

 Dallas is coming off a huge win over Brooklyn on Thursday night. They did so despite being without Kristaps Porzingis (yet again). The big man has had a hard time staying on the court all season, and it’s definitely a problem as the team looks to the future. He is even more fragile than Joel Embiid, which is very telling. The good news is that Luka continues to make magic and guide the team in the right direction.

ODDS

The spread for Friday night is currently sitting at DAL -10.5.

Cavs Seeking Road Victory

It has been a few years since the Cavs have been able to beat Dallas. They went 0-2 in last year’s meetings, both coming in the month of November. They lost one game by more than 40 points and the other by 20. Neither was close, as they had no answers to slow Doncic and co. The key to getting a victory this time around lies in slowing the Slovenian star down.

The Cavs have a luxury that many teams don’t. They have a 20-year-old that can play 35-40 minutes, depending on what’s needed of him. And during every second, he’s out there on the best player for the opposing team. Isaac Okoro works his tail off to be in the right place at the right time. He has to be ready for the battle.

Look for Sexton to deliver big.

Dallas Looking for Weekend Sweep

This marks the first time Dallas and Cleveland will play this year. The second meeting will be two days from now, in The Land. The Mavs were able to beat Brooklyn in a tight battle on Thursday night, holding off a late rally to get the job done. They were able to do this despite Luka shooting the ball horribly from the field.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith have been big shot-makers whenever the team has needed them to be this year. Other players have emerged as situations have called for it. Jalen Brunson has been a big part of their engine, and they clearly missed him in the bubble.

Dallas’ biggest key to victory lies in their three-point shooting. The more they can make, the better off they’ll be.