Mavs Game Preview: Game 35 vs Cavaliers [Game of the Week]
Can the undermanned Mavs pull an upset against the NBA’s best team?
The hurting and struggling Mavericks return home after a tough four-game road trip, hoping to avoid a fourth consecutive loss.
To do so, they’ll need to pull off a huge upset. Injury concerns are mounting, with P.J. Washington and Maxi Kleber listed as questionable, adding to an already lengthy list of absences that includes Luka Dončić, Dante Exum, and Naji Marshall, who is serving the final game of his four-game suspension tonight.
And their challenge couldn’t be greater—they’re up against the NBA’s best team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lead the league with a 29-4 record and an imposing +12.8 point differential. The Cavaliers arrive in Dallas riding an eight-game winning streak, with each of those victories coming by double-digit margins.
Because the Cavaliers have been such a juggernaut and an impressive team this season, I selected this matchup as the Game of the Week. As always, Game of the Week previews and post-game notes are fully available to everyone. For other games, some insights will be exclusive to paid subscribers. If you’re enjoying the content and are able to, please consider upgrading to support the work!
Mavs (20-14) vs Cavaliers (29-4) game facts
Rest: DAL on 1 day of rest; CLE on 2 days of rest
DAL vs CLE 2023-24 record: 0-2
DAL 2024-25 home record: 10-5
CLE 2024-25 away record: 12-3
DAL injuries: Luka Dončić (OUT), Dante Exum (OUT), Naji Marshall (OUT - suspension), P.J. Washington (questionable), Maxi Kleber (questionable)
CLE injuries: Isaac Okoro (OUT), Sam Merrill (doubtful)
CLE projected starting 5: Donovan Mitchell (G), Darius Garland (G), Dean Wade (F), Evan Mobley (F), Jarrett Allen (C)
CLE key reserves: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, Ty Jerome, Max Strus, Sam Merrill
CLE Rotation:
Three key questions heading into the game
How can the Mavericks' struggling offense keep up with the NBA's most dynamic attack?
Will Jason Kidd revert to a run-and-gun, all-guard attack if Washington and Kleber are not ready to go?
Can the Mavericks provide enough resistance against the hot-shooting Mitchell-Garland guard duo?
Mavs on offense | Cavs on defense
If the Mavericks are to pull off this upset, there’s a high chance they’ll need a great scoring night. The Cavaliers have lost only four games this season, and in those losses, the fewest points they allowed was 117, with the other three opponents scoring 120 or more. Unfortunately, the Mavericks' offense, which was scorching the NBA earlier in the season, has fallen into a major funk since losing Dončić on Christmas Day, managing just 106.2 points per 100 possessions during last five games.
Like the Mavericks' previous opponents, the Rockets, the Cavaliers are a team that protects the paint exceptionally well with their two-big-man combo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Without Dončić, the Mavericks have been relying even more heavily on mid-range and outside shooting, meaning they’ll likely need to hit a high volume of tough long pull-ups to score enough.
One break the Mavericks will get in this matchup is the absence of the Cavaliers’ best on-ball defender, Isaac Okoro. This means Kyrie Irving won’t face the same level of pressure he encountered against Dillon Brooks and the Rockets. However, the Cavaliers often compensate for the lack of elite on-ball defenders by deploying a zone defense anchored by their two big men inside. This season, only the Miami Heat have played more zone than Cleveland. Cleveland is also very good at generating turnovers, ranking 6th in the NBA. This will be another challenge for the Mavericks, as turnovers have become an increasing problem for them recently.
Especially if Washington and Kleber are out, Jason Kidd won’t have enough size or wing depth at his disposal to confront the Cavaliers with a traditional style of attack. This likely means relying on guard-heavy lineups, pushing the pace, and attempting to win in a run-and-gun, shootout type of game as the only viable alternative.
Cavs on offense | Mavs on defense
The biggest challenge for Dallas will be finding a way to provide any resistance defensively without key elements of their size and length in Dončić, Marshall, and potentially Washington and Kleber.
The Cavaliers currently boast the NBA’s best offense, led by their dynamic backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell (23.7 points per game) and Darius Garland (20.5 ppg). Complementing them are two versatile scoring bigs, Evan Mobley (18.4 ppg) and Jarrett Allen (13.7 ppg), who offer different options as pick-and-roll outlets.
The Cavaliers are one of the most pick-and-roll-heavy teams in the NBA, leading the league in points scored out of the pick-and-roll. Their new head coach, Kenny Atkinson, has rejuvenated the offense by incorporating a system that emphasizes movement and cutting around those actions. This dynamic approach makes the Cavaliers both unique and exceptionally difficult to stop.
The Cavaliers are the best three points shooting team in the NBA, led by Mitchell (9.4 three point attempts per game at 42 percent 3P%) and Garland (6.9 3PA at 43% 3P%) who can both either make the catch and shoot three or pull-up as ball-handlers in pick-and-roll. The latter will be an especially big test for the Mavericks’ on ball and pick-and-roll defense. They’ll need to chase the Cavaliers’ guards over screens while avoiding situations where two defenders commit to the ball handler, as both Allen and Mobley excel as roll men.
Scouting the Cavaliers
As mentioned earlier, Kenny Atkinson has transformed the Cavaliers’ offense, lifting it from 18th last season to 1st this year. A major emphasis of his system is installing movement and cutting, particularly on the weak side, to create additional space for their primary pick-and-roll playmakers and roll-man. For a deeper dive, check out Atkinson’s explanation of how cutting has become a cornerstone of the modern NBA spaced-out offense.
More cutting and movement have partially solved their spacing issues with both Allen and Mobley on the floor. Mobley shooting 43 percent from three certainly helps as well. The other key adjustment is that the Cavaliers are staggering their two big men's minutes, meaning they primarily share the floor to open both halves and occasionally to close games. However, with the Cavaliers being so dominant this season, there haven’t been many close games requiring them to do so.
For extended stretches of the game, only one of Allen or Mobley is on the floor, surrounded by two elite ball-handlers in Mitchell and Garland (Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome are their backup ball-handling options), along with plenty of shooting (in Strus, Merrill, Niang, LeVert, Wade) to space the floor.
This ability to alternate between two styles—especially the spaced-out version with ample shooting—makes the Cavaliers incredibly difficult to defend.
Final thoughts
In their current state, it’s hard to expect Dallas to win this one by locking down Cleveland’s offense. For the Mavericks to pull off an upset and beat the Cavaliers, a lot will need to go right. They’ll likely need outstanding shooting performances from most of their guards while hoping the Cavs have an off night shooting on the other end. And this will be another game where some of the younger players, like Jaden Hardy and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, will get a chance to prove themselves and test their skills against top-level competition. But this is the NBA, where crazier things have happened—and it’s why the games are played.