Pistons vs Mavs preview: Trying to get back on track against short-handed Mavs

The Pistons are back home after a road-trip that started off great with wins over the Rockets and Hawks only to end with losses to the Magic, Cavaliers, and Pacers. The loss to the Magic was a close game, but it was at a time the Magic were struggling, while the Cavs and Pacers losses were poor efforts from start to finish.

The Pistons now have a chance to get back on track against a Dallas Mavericks team that will not have Dereck Lively or Luka Doncic along with a few other rotation players. Despite being short-handed, the Mavericks are not a pushover, so it is going to take a strong effort from start-to-finish to have a chance in this game.

Cade Cunningham can show the world why he was selected as an All Star with a big game to get the Pistons back to .500.

Game Vitals

Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
When: Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 pm EST
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons (-1.5)

Analysis

Even though the Mavericks are short-handed, I am a bit surprised to see the Pistons favored in this game. It goes to show that they have at least earned some respect from oddsmakers, as they have very rarely been favored the last couple years and would especially not be favored against a team like the Mavericks, even if they were short-handed.

I don’t need to go much into the Mavericks as a team. They are obviously good as they just played in the NBA Finals last season. However, the current version of the Mavericks is a beatable team as they are without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively along with Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber. That leaves them very thin in the frontcourt while also not having the offensive firepower they would have when their offense is led by Luka Doncic.

That isn’t to say that the Mavericks have no offensive talent. They have Kyrie Irving, who still has the ability to score a lot of points in a short period of time. He was on a lot of people’s All Star snub list this year and he definitely has a case. He has done an admirable job keeping the Mavericks afloat while they await the return of Luka Doncic.

The Mavs also still have Klay Thompson, who may not be the offensive threat he was during his peak with the Warriors, but still has the ability to get hot from outside and make your night long. I am less worried about a Klay Thompson heater than a Kyrie Irving heater, but it is always a possibility.

You also can’t forget Spencer Dinwiddie, who has had a tendency to have some of his better games against the team that drafted him. He is currently starting for the Mavericks because of how short-handed they are.

All of this goes to say, this is by no means an easy win for the Pistons, but the Mavericks are a very vulnerable team right now without two of their better players.

The Pistons are coming off a loss to the Pacers where they let the physicality and trash talk of the Pacers get to them as they let their emotions dictate their play. Isaiah Stewart was ejected and had some offensive gestures while leaving, but so far, there has been no suspension announced for those gestures, so I expect him to be available. His defense is invaluable to this team and anytime he gets himself into trouble is a huge issue for the team.

Luckily for the Pistons, the Mavericks don’t really have any centers that are big-time shooting threats, so this should be a better matchup for Jalen Duren. However, I would expect PJ Washington to get some minutes at center given how short-handed they are in the frontcourt, so the Pistons will need Isaiah Stewart to matchup with him in those minutes so Jalen Duren doesn’t get torched by his outside shooting like he usually does against any center that can shoot.

Another positive the Pistons have going for them is that the Mavericks are not a physical team like the Pacers or Magic and there isn’t some built-in rivalry for the Pistons to lose focus over, so this is a great opportunity to get themselves back on track.

Cade Cunningham has a chance to show off his newly minted All Star status against the team from his hometown, which is a bit fitting. Hopefully he can lead the Pistons to the win as well and get back to .500.