Last-minute Changes, Reports and News ahead of Mavericks vs Pacers

The last time the Pacers played the Mavericks, Aaron Nesmith dragged Cooper Flagg down on a breakaway. A flagrant foul, a shoving match, and Flagg left with a shoulder injury. He had 14 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in just 17 minutes. And Dallas won anyway, 121-105 in Indiana. But the madness had set in for the rest of the Mavericks, including the fans. Now, on the same night, Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and 7 assists for the Pacers. Tonight, he is in a suit. The Pacers are 3-7. It just played in Mexico City, and it has not won a home game all season. So is this the easy win for Dallas, or the kind of game the Mavs will let slip away? Let's go back to that October game, because it tells you what Indiana looks like when it's healthy, and Dallas, they still beat them. Flag was gone after 17 minutes, so Dallas won without him. Kyrie Irving had 24 points and made 5 out of 10 threes. P.J. Washington had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Najee Marshall had 15. Indiana had Pascal Siakam with 23 and Halliburton had 18 points and 7 assists, yet they still lost by 16. So Dallas has already beaten this team once with Halliburton on the floor. Now he isn't, and Indiana's record is 3-7 without that home win. Let's start with who's out, though, because the Pacers' list is a long one. Halliburton is out with a left hamstring strain. Coach Rick Carlisle says that he's making great progress, but the timeline is uncertain. And yes, that is former Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. Johnny Furphy is out after right ACL surgery, and Ben Sheppard is out after left meniscus surgery. TJ McConnell is questionable with a right hamstring strain. He only made his season debut on Saturday. For Dallas, the last report we have is from Sunday night. Derek Lively is out after right foot surgery. Jarrett Brovich has right heel bursitis. And Sergio de la Rea has a right knee sprain. Caleb Martin with the right thumb sprain is listed available. I'll flag it, though, because Dallas could post something new before we get to that tip-off. So be aware of Caleb Martin. And that report matters because Dallas has been starting Irving, Martin, Flagg, Washington, and Gafford. So the starting five, it hasn't really moved. So three numbers to note tonight. Indiana's 3-7. It was down 27-0 on Saturday. And Dallas just won by 37 over Brooklyn last night. Both teams are thin, but only one of them is thin at the point guard, and only one of them just played in Mexico City. Let's face it, no matter how much you love your team, they're eventually going to let you down. Bad calls, blown leads, disappointing seasons, we've all been there. But you know what shouldn't let you down? Your belt. And that's what I'm excited to tell you about today's sponsor, Anson Belt and Buckle. Now, this is a family-run company that's been around since 2009, and they've completely reinvented how belts should work. 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On Saturday, Indiana lost 114-102 to Denver in Mexico City and fell to 3-7. They trailed by 27 and got it down to 7 with 7.26 left. Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 10 for 18 on the shooting night. And Larry Nance Jr. had 15 for them off the bench. Carlisle said after it, quote, We're a team that's very dependent on one another for our success. Siakam had 23 against Dallas in October and 23 against Denver on Saturday. So he is going to get his. The question is, who else does? Their wins have all been on the road, 123-120 in New Orleans, 136-109 in Brooklyn, a team the Mavericks just beat, and 107-103 in Memphis. However, in the same tone, Brooklyn came to Indiana last week and won 98-90. Here's the number that stands out. Indiana is 3-2 on the road, but 0-4 at home, and it gives up 114.2 points a game while scoring 110.3. Siakam is still the engine at 21.4 points a game, and Andrew Nimhart leads them with seven assists. But when those two share the floor, Siakam shoots 22.6% from three. When Nimhart sits, he shoots 41.2%. With Hal Burton out, that pairing is going to play a lot together tonight. So the Pacers don't have many answers, but Dallas has a problem of its own. The Mavericks are 6-4 and they are 4-2 at home as they score 113.9 and allow 109.1. Their two losses came against San Antonio, 122-106, and Sacramento, 115-100. Both were early season games where they never got going. Another two home losses came to San Antonio, 120-106, and Sacramento, 115-100. Both were early season games where they never got going. But look at how the last three games started. On Wednesday in San Antonio, the Spurs led 68-51 at half. Victor Wembanyama finished with 52 points and had 24 rebounds. And Dallas, well, they still won the second half, 60-44, but it lost by one, 112-111. On Friday against Utah, it was tied, 57-57 at half. Flagg and Irving were combined three for 17 in that first half. Dallas took over in the third quarter and won, 112-100. P.J. Washington had 26 points with six threes, and Maurice Johnson Jr. had 13 points and a rookie high this season, 17 rebounds. Then on Sunday, it was a completely different team. Dallas led Brooklyn 66-46 at half and then ended up winning 130-93 in a blowout fashion. Flag had 25 points, a posterization, five rebounds, and 12 assists. Irving had 21 on 9 for 15, and Gafford had 18 points and five rebounds on a 7 for 8 night. Now, if you're enjoying this content, make sure you hit that subscribe button. Currently, we're at 26,813 subscribers, and I'm trying to get to that 27,000 mark. Me and Nick are as soon as possible, and we believe that we can get there with Mavs Nation behind us. We're streaming tonight's game, too, so make sure you subscribe to come check us out later this evening. So there is a Dallas that gets blown away early and a Dallas that blows you away early. And the only thing that changed is the start. Which brings me back to Flagg. He's averaging 24 points and 7 assists, and he has scored 19, 21, and 25 in Dallas' last three games. Now here's the part I like. In the Utah win, he had 21 points and 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Then he got 12 assists against Brooklyn. He's also averaging 2.1 steals a game, so the Pacers offense without its point guard has to be careful with the ball. Niece Smith, who's the guy who put Cooper Flagg on the floor in October, had 8 points on 3 for 11 in Mexico City, so tonight it's more about Niece Smith keeping his hands to himself than anything else, but the same thing can be said for Mavericks, because I bet you there's a little bit of blood in the water in that. The other matchup is inside. Ivica Zubac had 12 rebounds on Saturday and 11 in the October game against Dallas. Gafford had 18 points on 7 of 8 on Sunday. If he stays out for foul trouble, Dallas wins that fight. Now, it isn't only Flagg and Irving. Dallas has won with other guys over the last week. Against San Antonio, Najee Marshall had 22 points on 9 for 12, and PJ had 21 points and 10 boards. Against Utah, Marez, he was the guy. 17 boards in 24 minutes, and he had 9 more against Brooklyn last night. And Santiago Al Dama, returning from injury, had nine rebounds against Utah and then 12 points against Brooklyn on a 5-for-7 night. Indiana's bench has some answers, too. Larry Nance Jr. made five of seven threes in 13 minutes against Denver, and Obi Toppin had 10 points and seven boards. So the question isn't who is on the floor. That's whether Dallas gets its bench minutes before the Pacers' bench gets hot. One more thing, because you're going to see it in your timeline, Kyrie Irving does have trade talks, and that's still doing it. Right now, the cash market has him at 38% chance of being traded before the deadline. Now, it's an odds market, not a report, and everything inside the organization says they are not taking calls on him. Now, the one reporter I found says Dallas is turning down every inquiry, which is, again, what they should be doing. And Dallas is $23.1 million in the cap, so the deal would have to send salary back. Now, on the floor, he had 29 points in San Antonio, 14 on 7 for 20 against Utah and 21 against Brooklyn, and that's Kyrie being Kyrie. Now, he was doubtful with that left knee on November second, and he has played every game since, so the honest read is that nothing has changed. However, it is a back-to-back, so we'll see what they say. Now, at the end of the day, Dallas is a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 226.5. The total is, of course, that, and the teams are averaging 113 and 110, which adds up to about 224.2, so a little bit different in terms of the under. Now, there is a short number for Dallas team facing a 3-7 team with no Halliburton. Tip right now is at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Dallas time. Of course, I will, of course, put the injury reports in the comments section, and we're going to be live here on Mavericks Digest for the game about 30 minutes before tips. Make sure you come join us and watch the Mavs with us. Indiana's 0-4 doesn't matter in Dallas, but 3-2 on the road does, and Siakam, he can score on anybody. The schedule is just going to get harder after tonight because Dallas is at Minnesota on Thursday, then at Cleveland on Saturday, and Boston on Sunday. So a little bit of a road trip coming up with some good teams. Dallas is 2-2 on the road this season, so this is the cleanest game you're going to get over the next week in the calendar. You want to take advantage of it. But here's the three keys for tonight. Start on time. Gafford against Zubac is the guy who needs to step up next to Siakam. My pick, though, has Dallas by six. As long as the first half doesn't happen to us again, we should be in a good spot. At the end of the day, I do think the Mavericks win this one by six, but I think they might win it by a little bit more. I'm going to say they score 121, and the Pacers, they're going to score 110, is my prediction, so 121-110. I got an 11-point win for the Mavericks. I think Flagg does well. I think Nesmith. There might be a fight, I don't know, but I'm just going to put that out there in the world that that might happen tonight, especially at home. There's going to be boos. But, of course, I want your opinion as well. Who scores more tonight, Cooper Flagg or Kyrie Irving? Put it in the comments with your final score, and I'll be back, of course, during the game and right before the game, 30 minutes before tip, as we're live here on Mavs Digest, and we will see you for the game tonight. For now, guys, we appreciate you watching. Peace out.