Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets, NBA 2024-25 Season, Today Match Prediction

Teams Preview

Dallas Mavericks Preview

The hot topic in the NBA fraternity has been the trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The general manager of the Dallas Mavericks emphasized the importance of defense after going forward with the trade. The Mavericks and the Lakers finalized a three-way trade that the Utah Jazz helped facilitate. The Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers' 2029 first-round draft pick while the Lakers received Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris. The Dallas Mavericks are currently placed 8th in the Western Conference with a 26-25 record and 3rd in the Southwest Division. The Dallas side suffered a close loss against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, the game where the duo of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embid scored 62 points.

The Mavericks have been performing well overall, averaging 115.3 points per game offensively (11th in the league), 44.9 rebounds (11th overall), a mere 25.1 assists per game (22nd overall), and allowing opponents 113.4 points per game(16th overall). With the addition of Anthony Davis, we should see a difference in their stats for the future. Anthony Davis averages 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.3 points, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

Dwight Powell and Dereck Lively II are the two players currently injured from the Dallas roster. Along with Anthony Davis who is questionable for Sunday's game. The starting lineup is expected to feature Kyrie Irving as point guard, Klay Thompson as shooting guard, Anthony Davis as small forward, and P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford as power forward and center, respectively.

Houston Rockets Preview

For the first time this season, the Houston Rockets have lost four games in a row, against the likes of Memphis, and New York Knicks and twice against the Brooklyn Nets. After a pretty decent December, they went  11-4 in January, but have struggled to win a game in February. The Rockets have lost their 2nd seed in a very packed Western Conference to the Tennessee team, the Memphis Grizzlies. Houston records 32-18 placing them 3rd in the Western Conference, with the Denver Nuggets slowly catching up to them being just .5 games behind in the table. They are 2nd in the Southwest Division with Memphis taking the 1st place.

Conceding only 108.6 points per game so far, the Rockets have the sixth-best defense in the league and also rank first in rebounds collected with a figure of 47.9 rebounds per game. Offensively the side has the 13th-best record in the league with 113.4 points per game but is placed 30th when it comes to assists, assisting just 22.5 assists a game. A team that is averaging 113.4 points offensively has seen a major dip this month as the team averages 104.3 points per game at the time of writing. The team also shoots a respectable 51.4% from the 2-point mark while averaging a figure of 34.2% from beyond the arch. Although Jalen Green is the leading man for the franchise with an average score of 21.3 points per game, it's Alperen Sengun, the recently announced all-star who is currently averaging 19.2 points per game along with 10.6 boards and 5 assists, maintaining the tempo of the game.

In terms of injuries, Jabari Smith is out with a broken left hand and will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks. Tari Eason and Fred VanVleet are the other players sidelined. Their starting lineup should feature Aaron Holiday and Jalen Green as their two guards, Dillon Brooks as the small forward, and Amen Thompson as the power forwards while Sengun is the expected center for the team. 

Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets Starting Lineups