Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks – Game #28
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will look to get a win in Dallas (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will look to break their three-game losing streak on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs are 4-23 on the season and 2-11 on the road, while the Mavs are 16-12 on the season and 7-6 at home.
San Antonio has lost the last three games by an average of 22.6 points. The game against the Mavericks is the final stop in a three-game road trip. After tonight, the Spurs have Christmas off before resuming play Dec. 26 at home versus the Utah Jazz.
Dallas is also riding a three-game losing streak. The Mavericks lost to the defending championship Nuggets in Denver and then followed up that loss with defeats at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. Despite the setbacks, the Mavs are still the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
Prior to their last game, the Spurs had three players on their injury report: Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson. All three players were able to play against the Chicago Bulls. Tonight, San Antonio has no one on the injury report besides Charles Bassey, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
Dallas Mavericks Injury Update
The injury report for the Mavs is extensive. Kyrie Irving, the second best player for Dallas, is out with a heel injury. Dereck Lively II, the rookie center who had been starting for the Mavs, is out with an ankle injury. Two other players who have started games for Dallas this season — Josh Green and Maxi Kleber — will also miss the game against the Spurs.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
All indications point to head coach Gregg Popovich keeping the same starting five: Victor Wembanyama at center, Jeremy Sochan at power forward, Keldon Johnson at small forward, Devin Vassell at shooting guard and Malaki Branham at point guard.
Since becoming the starter at point guard, Branham has averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and only 1.7 turnovers in 29.2 minutes per game, while shooting 52.9% from the field, 38.5% on three-pointers and 100% (6-for-6) at the free throw line.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Mavericks
The Mavericks are favored by eight points and the over/under is 242.5 points. The smart money is on the Mavs. San Antonio hasn’t played a close game recently and superstar Luka Doncic will most likely be too much for the Spurs to handle. Dallas and their home crowd will be eager to get back on the winning track.