The Dallas Mavericks will focus on getting off to a better start when they face the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
So far this season, the Mavericks have trailed after the first quarter in five of their first seven games. On Monday, they were behind 15-2 just over three minutes into the game, which ended in a 134-127 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
“I think that’s just kind of been our MO right now is the slow starts,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd. “We got to figure out how to get the ball moving, get everyone touching it (and) everybody moving. The energy has to be better. We’ve been flat here at home for whatever reasons, so we got to be better with our energy.”
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 34 points, seven rebounds, and 15 assists against Indiana. Kyrie Irving added 27 points, while Naji Marshall contributed 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting off the bench.
However, the Mavericks were without center Dereck Lively II, who injured his right shoulder while warming up before the game. He is listed as questionable for the game against the Bulls.
“I don’t know when he got hurt,” Kidd said. “He got scratched right before our (pre-game) meeting.”
If Lively can’t play, Marshall may be asked to help lead the second unit again.
“I was just getting more and more comfortable,” Marshall said about his performance on Monday. “Guys put me in the right position to be at my best. I was playing with energy.”
The Chicago Bulls are also dealing with injuries. They have lost two straight games and three of their last five. Lonzo Ball has been out since October 28 due to a sprained right wrist, and two-time All-Star Zach LaVine (adductor) was also absent for a 135-126 loss to the winless Utah Jazz on Monday.
LaVine is questionable for Wednesday’s game.
“We’re not where we need to be (defensively) to win games,” Bulls center Nikola Vucevic said after the loss to the Jazz. “(Monday) showed we never were able to get stops consistently. And then when we would get stops, we didn’t rebound.”
“So as a team we have to be better defensively to give us a chance.”
Vucevic scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Utah. Coby White led the Bulls with 28 points, including a 6-of-9 performance from three-point range, and Ayo Dosunmu added 25 points.
“I know it’s early in the year, but he’s really playing well on both ends of the floor,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said about Vucevic. “He’s been great. He’s been great with the young guys. He’s shot the ball well inside and behind the line.”
But as Vucevic pointed out, Chicago’s defense has been struggling. The Bulls are giving up the sixth-most points per game in the league (119.4).
This could be good news for Dallas, which was held to under 110 points in back-to-back games before the loss to Indiana.
The Mavericks won both games against the Bulls last season, sweeping the season series.
