Dallas Mavericks Schedule Breakdown and Record Predictions for January
The Dallas Mavericks have had a relatively soft start to the season, playing against the seventh-easiest schedule in the NBA. Things got a little tougher in December, and the competition will ramp up even further in the month of January.
Dallas will play 16 games in the opening month of 2015. The Mavericks are tied for the lead with several other teams in games played at home, hosting opponents at the American Airlines Center in 18 of their 33 contests this season.
In January, the Mavs will have to get their travel bags out on a regular basis. They will play just four out of their 16 games in Dallas and will be going on several lengthy road trips.
Even though playing on the road will be tough, only seven out of the Mavs' January opponents currently hold records over 0.500.
Dallas is right up there with the rest of the Western Conference elite, battling for a top-four seed. Coming out of January unscathed and without losing ground in that race will be a challenge.
Here are the week-by-week breakdowns of what Dallas will face in the coming month.
Jan. 1-4
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The Mavericks will begin the year with an Eastern road trip, taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics in the first week of the month.
The game against the Cavs will obviously be the highlight of the trip. The Mavericks will be catching the Cavaliers at the right time, and they should have a good chance of stealing a win at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cleveland has lost Anderson Varejao for the season, while LeBron James has also been bothered with knee soreness. On top of it, the media around the Cavaliers has leaked a lot of unflattering rumors that are inevitably a distraction for the team.
Without Varejao in the middle, the Cavaliers' interior defense is in shambles. The Mavs have feasted on opposition which lacks an elite rim protector and should have no trouble breaking down Cleveland's mediocre defense.
Two days before the big game at Cleveland, Rajon Rondo will make his return to Boston and take on his former team. It's inevitably going to be an emotional affair for Dallas' newest acquisition.
Boston head coach Brad Stevens has had the Celtics playing some solid basketball, but the Mavericks have an overwhelming advantage when it comes to pure talent and should take care of business.
Week 1 prediction: 2-0
Jan. 5-11
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The Mavericks' key game of the second week will be their Jan. 10 visit to the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clips have a stable record but have looked shaky considering the expectations surrounding this team. The addition of Spencer Hawes was supposed to push the Clippers into serious contention for the top seed in the Western Conference, but they have not quite reached that potential.
Blake Griffin's numbers have declined somewhat, and he has been criticized for moving further away from the basket and shooting too many jumpers. All in all, the Clippers have not quite managed to turn the corner, but they are still an elite team.
The Clippers are 13-4 at home, and both teams will have had three days of rest before the game. The Mavs certainly have what it takes to beat the Clippers in a close game, but the advantage still goes to the hosts.
Before taking on the Clippers, Dallas will end their road trip playing against the Brooklyn Nets, and they'll also face the Detroit Pistons at home on Jan. 7. Both teams have struggled this season but still possess a threat to Dallas.
The Nets are merely .500 at home, and the Mavericks should be able to run circles around and old Brooklyn team. Even though the Pistons are thriving without Josh Smith, their last three victories have come against struggling or mediocre teams.
Week 2 prediction: 2-1
Jan. 12-18
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The middle of the month will have Dallas playing a tough three-game stretch. In the course of four days, the Mavs will face the Sacramento Kings once and the Denver Nuggets twice.
Any big man that goes up against DeMarcus Cousins generally has a tough evening ahead.
The last time the Mavs went up against Sacramento earlier in the season, they did a great job bothering Cousins and forcing him into foul trouble. Whenever the rising star was on the floor, he generally got good looks, but he quickly picked up fouls and was sent to the bench.
Even though Cousins' minutes were kept down, the Kings held an 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and Dallas had to dig deep to overcome the massive deficit.
The Kings have cooled off since their hot start to the season, but they are still a wild-card team that can surprise you on any given evening.
The Nuggets have failed to meet expectations this season, and Dallas will play them away and at home between Jan. 14 and Jan. 16. The Mavericks should be able to overpower Denver, especially since the Nuggets have been mediocre at home despite the altitude advantage.
The Mavs could very well sweep the three games. However, considering the fact that they'll be playing three games in four nights, it's more likely they'll slip up somewhere along the way.
Week 3 prediction: 2-1
Jan. 19-25
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Undoubtedly the toughest challenge of the fourth week for the Mavericks will come on Jan. 19, when they will take on the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies already defeated Dallas earlier this season, and Memphis possesses all the tools to slow down the Mavs' offense.
Memphis has an elite defensive anchor in Marc Gasol, and the Grizzlies love packing the paint and daring opponents to beat them from the outside. That has so far been the most effective tool against Dallas' drive-and-kick-fueled offense.
Zach Randolph should be back on the floor at that point, and Dallas will face a very tough challenge trying to overcome one of the best teams in the West.
Dallas will be able to cool down a little and play a mediocre Minnesota Timberwolves team on Jan. 21, a game coach Carlisle will expect to win.
Just two days later, the Mavs will host the Chicago Bulls. Dallas has already beaten Chicago on the road this season in what was a very competitive game. It's a bit of a scary matchup, considering that the Bulls have been very strong on the road this season.
The final game of the week will take place on Jan. 25, and the Mavs will visit the New Orleans Pelicans. The Mavericks have already beaten up their division rivals twice this season. Anthony Davis is an almost impossible player to stop, but Dallas should be able to figure out a way to win a third straight game against the Pelicans this season.
Week 4 prediction: 2-2
Jan. 26-31
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Dallas will end January with a bang, playing four games in five days. All but one of those games will be on the road.
On Jan. 27, the Mavs will once again go up against the gritty Grizzlies, this time on their own home floor. Once again, Memphis is a tough matchup for Dallas, but it should be a very close game.
The key matchup of the week will take place on the very next day, as Dallas will take on James Harden and the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.
Houston won the only meeting of the season against the Mavs so far. It was an ugly, defensive game, even though the Rockets didn't have Dwight Howard in the lineup.
It's hard to like Dallas' chances going on the road against a great team, especially after playing what will most likely be an exhausting game against Memphis on the previous night.
The Mavericks will have one day off following their back-to-back and will take their talents to Florida to face the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. Both games are certainly winnable, especially considering that Dallas has had no trouble beating up on inferior teams this season.
Week 5 prediction: 3-1
January Summary
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Dallas has had it easy as far as the schedule goes, and January should prove to be a huge test for Carlisle's team.
The Mavs are still trying to integrate Rondo into the offense. He has picked things up at an admirable pace, and Dallas has looked formidable lately.
Whether or not Carlisle's newfound small-ball strategies will prove to be fruitful against the West's elite remains to be seen. The Mavs haven't looked great when going up against the Western powerhouses, and they will have several chances to correct that in January.
The overall prediction tally ends up at 11-5, which is still a relatively optimistic prediction. There are a lot of games that should be close and several tricky contests against the likes of the Nuggets and the Kings.
Total January record prediction: 11-5
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