Atlanta Hawks (13-6) at Dallas Mavericks (14-6)
The Atlanta Hawks know exactly how the Dallas Mavericks feel right now.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
After the shots just didn't seem to fall for the Mavericks on Friday night, in a 98-82 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas' opportunity to get the bad taste out of its mouth just a day later is enticing. Simultaneously, the Hawks were dropping a 114-107 home game to the New York Knicks.
Therapeutically, both teams are looking forward to getting back to the refuge of being on the court, with an opportunity to get back on the winning track. With both squads finding it hard to get up for teams at the bottom of the standings in their last games, seeing an opponent that is seemingly on the fast track to the playoffs should bring the best out in both teams. According to Mavs center Erick Dampier, Dallas learned a valuable lesson in defeat: Never take any opponent lightly.
"It's the NBA, it doesn't matter if you're the worst team in this league, you can beat the best team," Dampier said. "We're just going to come out (Saturday) and get ready for those guys (the Hawks)."
The Mavericks also enrolled in a crash course on how not to let poor shooting influence your play at the defensive end. On a night that featured a 35 percent shooting night, the Dallas defense suffered most, as the Mavs' overaggressive play in an attempt to create a comeback allowed Memphis to take advantage of open looks.
"It was a cycle that we never were able to stem," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "On night's when you're not shooting well, you have to be solid defensively, and we just weren't."
"Even if the ball is not going in for us, our defense has to be there every night," Dampier said.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
After having problems slowing down one upstart, young and athletic team, the Southwest Division-leading Mavericks will have their hands full with a Hawks squad that uses its athleticism to the maximum.
Showing the past two years that they are a perennial playoff team, the young Hawks seem ready to grow up this season, sitting just two games behind the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.
"They're young, but at the same time, you have to know that if you give a young team confidence then it's hard to knock them out of the box," forward Shawn Marion said.
The Mavericks return to the American Airlines Center on Saturday night after spitting a two-game road trip. The Mavericks-Hawks matchup will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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