After the Mavericks’ disastrous trip to Denver on Friday night, they return home to host the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon.
| outsider | Kings | |
| Record | 3-2 | 3-2 |
| Points per game master | Luka Doncic (22.4) | Harrison Barnes (25.0) |
| Rebounds per referee | Luka Doncic (8.6) | Harrison Barnes (10.4) |
| Field goal of the team in% | 0.396% (most recently in the NBA) | 0.454% (10.) |
| Team three point shooting% | .310% (27.) | .340% (12.) |
| Opponent Field Goal% | 0.452% (19.) | 0.444% (12.) |
| Team defensive rating | 105.0 (12.) | 111.1 (24.) |
Three things to monitor today are …
Harrison Barnes makes Mavericks fans think they miss him
There is no doubt that Harrison Barnes got off to a spectacular start to the season for the Kings. He forms a double-double on average and shoots over 50% from depth with over seven attempts per game. He’s even got a pretty great buzzer on his name this season.
HARRISON BARNES. GOOD NIGHT!!! pic.twitter.com/epKrgdVLir
– Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 28, 2021
One thing needs to be made clear: this is not the player the Mavericks traded in for Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph in 2019. Mavs fans hated Barnes for his inefficient shooting, lack of ability to create for other players, and the fact that he took too many possessions away from the rookie version of Luka Doncic.
To be clear, I would love Harrison Barnes to be on this current Mavs team. A wing of its size and with the ability to defend on the perimeter and score between 15-20 points per game if you need it on a given night? Sign me, even at four, $ 85 million like I was in the summer of 2019. However, I’m not going to rewrite history and pretend the Mavs are stupid enough to trade it. This is a textbook version of revisionist history and it just freaks out for having got off to a great start this season.
Harrison Barnes is a very, very good NBA player. But once again he’s not as good as his stats over six … SIX, games suggest, and he’s certainly not the difference between Dallas winning the championship and a lottery team. Just another very solid player who Mavericks fans would ask for more.
Can Luka Doncic play an entire game?
I wrote yesterday that the Mavericks needed the return of the real Luka Doncic most urgently to launch their battered offensive. His poor shot selection, apparent lack of stamina and overall poor play were very unsettling in the first five games of the season. Perhaps Sunday afternoon is an opportunity to see the first epic Luka performance of the season.
Can the Mavericks undo their recent battles against the Kings?
The Kings haven’t made it into the playoffs since 2006 and haven’t been very close in the years since. However, that hasn’t stopped them from being a thorn in the side of the Mavs for the past few years.
Sacramento won all three of the duels between the two teams last season, and each defeat came at a terrible time at the end of the season as Dallas tried to move up the playoffs. In the end, the Mavs finished with a fifth seed and had to face the Clippers for the second time in a row in the first round. We all know how it turned out. Ultimately, Dallas scored as much as they could in the overall standings (fifth) as the Clippers were a full five games ahead of them.
In any case, Dallas can’t afford to be swept up against a team in a season streak that eventually ends with a losing record. If they want to win a playoff series this year they have to get the highest seed possible and not mess around with their food. I don’t think Sacramento is lazy at all this season. I expect them to fight for at least one play-in spot by the end, but the Mavericks should still take care of this team at home.
Dallas Fanatic Editor-in-Chief | Born and raised in Dallas, I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas in 2014, majoring in radio / TV / film. I am a lover of all sports and I support every DFW team. For random sports and other thoughts, you can find me on Twitter: @DylanDuell
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