3 concerns as the Mavericks try to end their five-game road skid at Sacramento

All of a sudden, the Dallas Mavericks (12-20) are stuck again in the Western Conference mud. They’re also mired in a five-game road losing streak as an opportunity to extricate themselves appears on Saturday, when they meet the Sacramento Kings (7-23) at the Golden 1 Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CDT.

Dallas comes into the matchup losers of four of their last six, after crumbling on Christmas Day, 126-116 at the Golden State Warriors. The Kings, who sit in last place in the West at the moment, are even worse for the wear lately, having dropped six of their last seven, including Tuesday’s 136-127 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.

The Kings have been trying to make things work behind forward DeMar DeRozan (19.0 points per game) and guards Russell Westbrook (14.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists per game) and Malik Monk (12.4 points per game) while facing a litany of injury setbacks that would make even the Mavericks blush.

Injury concerns

Let’s start there, as both teams’ lineups have been recently affected by injury. Domantas Sabonis will not play for the Kings with ongoing knee issues. He will reportedly be reevaluated in late January after playing in just 10 games so far this season. Zach LaVine is also out with an ankle injury he suffered on Dec. 14 in a 117-103 loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves. Keegan Murray is considered day-to-day with a calf injury he sustained in Tuesday’s loss to the Pistons.

Expect Monk and Precious Achiuwa to slide into the starting lineup for LaVine and Murray, if Murray is unable to go in this one. Rookie Maxime Raynaud has been filling in capably for Sabonis across the last month or so at center after the Kings selected him 42nd overall in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Mavs will be without the usual suspects once again, but the most recent and pressing injury concern for Dallas is that surrounding Anthony Davis. He is listed as questionable as of Friday’s 6:30 p.m. NBA injury report with right adductor soreness after the team first called the injury “groin spasms” the night it occurred, and reports on Friday have not been especially encouraging. Davis came up lame early in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss to Golden State on a non-contact play, while simply running after a pass in transition from Naji Marshall.

Remember, Mavs fans all had to learn what an adductor was when Davis suffered a similar groin injury in the third quarter of his first game as a Maverick in February. Davis has suffered recurring groin injuries throughout his 12-plus-year NBA career. ESPN and The Athletic both reported on Friday that Davis is likely to miss Saturday’s game in Sacramento, but that this groin injury is not likely to keep him out long term.

Davis has missed 14 games this year with a calf injury and a couple more while he worked his way back from that injury. Dallas is 4-12 this season without Davis in the lineup. Brandon Williams is listed as doubtful for the Kings game with a calf contusion after pouring in 26 points off the bench in Thursday’s loss.

Even without Davis and Williams, the date with the Kings is an opportunity to bounce back and end the Mavericks’ current five-game road losing streak. Rookie supernova Cooper Flagg took over the Mavs’ offense in Davis’ absence on Thursday, getting off 18 of his 21 shot attempts in the minutes after Davis exited the game.

Shooting concerns

For almost a month there, it looked like the Mavericks were creeping closer and closer toward becoming a league-average 3-point shooting team, which, as everyone except the brilliant architects behind this Dallas roster knows, is an essential skill in today’s NBA. But the team is regressing from the outside in its last 10 games, averaging a league-worst 9.1 makes per game from 3-point range in that span.

Sacramento is just two spots higher than the Mavs, averaging a paltry 9.5 makes from 3-point land in their last 10 games, so Dallas’ lack of shooting may not be the death sentence against the Kings that it was on Thursday against the Warriors. The Mavs shot just 4-of-14 (29%) from deep on Christmas, and Golden State was just as bad, but they at least heaved enough of them (14-of-50, 28%) to kill the Mavs with math.

Sacramento doesn’t appear to be the kind of team that can kill the Mavericks with 3-point triangulation, but the regression back to a league-worst shooting team is a concerning development, nonetheless, for anyone still watching this team.

Defensive concerns?

Don’t look now, but in the same 10-game span, the Mavericks’ stalwart defense has been a little less dependable, too. For much of the season, Dallas has held a top-10 defensive rating. But in their last 10 games, the Mavs’ 116.5 rating is just 19th in the NBA.

Buckets have come more easily against the Mavericks as their schedule has gotten tougher. They gave up 130 and 121 in two wins over the Denver Nuggets, 131 in a loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121 in a loss at the Philadelphia 76ers and 119 more in Monday’s loss at the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s, again, not something you’d think the lowly Kings would be great at exploiting without Sabonis and LaVine at their disposal, but if they’re throwing up brick after brick from the outside at the same time, anything can happen — just like we saw in New Orleans.

You know what no one’s concerned about, though? The development of rookie supernova Cooper Flagg, who has made 27 of his 42 shot attempts in his last two games, when he scored 33 and 27 points. He should be off the leash at Sacramento, especially if Davis can’t go. With the Kings’ own defensive struggles (28th in defensive rating, 119.4), Flagg may fly into another huge game on Saturday, not even a week after turning 19 years old.

How to watch

The Mavericks and the Kings will tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast locally on KFAA Channel 29 as well as on regional stations throughout the Mavs’ viewership area, and also on NBA TV. It will be streamed on MavsTV.

3 concerns as the Mavericks try to end their five-game road skid at Sacramento

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