Mavs Game Preview: Game 6 vs Magic

Time to steer the ship back towards .700 win pace

Photo by Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

This is the second game of a 5-game homestand, and the first of three straight against Eastern Conference teams—after Dallas faced only Western teams so far.

I’ve said it a couple of times before the season: the Maverickss have the team, and there are no excuses not to push for a top-3 finish in the West, aiming for around 55 wins. To get there, they need to play at a 67-70 percent win pace. A win at home against the Magic, who’ll be without their best player, is a must to stay on track.

I'm traveling this weekend (writing from my hotel room in Venice), so this preview will be short. But I’ll be back home tomorrow, when we’ll have double-header content for the back-to-back: game observations against the Magic and a preview of the Pacers game.

I’ve selected the game against Indiana and Rick Carlisle as next week’s Game of the Week. If you’re new here, Game of the Week previews and post-game notes are fully available for everyone. For other games, some insights will be exclusive to paid subscribers, so if you’re able, please consider upgrading to support the work!

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Mavs (3-2) vs Magic (3-3) game facts

Rest: DAL on 2 days of rest; ORL on 1 day of rest

Mavs 2023-24 record vs. Magic: 2-0

DAL injuries: Dante Exum (OUT), Maxi Kleber (OUT)

ORL injuries: Paolo Banchero (OUT), Wendell Carter Jr. (questionable), Goga Bitadze (questionable)

ORL projected starting 5: Jalen Suggs (G), Anthony Black (G), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (F), Franz Wagner (F), Moritz Wagner (C)

ORL key reserves: Garry Harris, Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter Jr., Jonathan Isaac

ORL Rotation:

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Three key questions heading into the game

1. How will Dallas respond against another young, physical, defensive-minded team?

2. Was the fourth quarter against the Rockets a sign of better times ahead for Luka and the Mavericks’ offense?

3. Can the Mavericks finally rebound and defend without fouling?

Mavs on offense | Magic on defense

Under normal circumstances, with Luka Dončić and the Mavs’ offense performing at their usual level, I’d say the Mavericks should aim for a controlled pace, half-court game. The Magic—especially with Paolo Banchero on the sidelines—lack the shot creation (see next section) to match Dončić and Irving, so Orlando’s only chance to win would be to make it a physical, scrappy game. Kind of like what the Rockets did in the last game.

But we’ve seen that Dončić—and consequently the Mavericks’ offense—are a bit out of sync to start the season, so the Mavericks will need a backup plan. So far this season, in their wins, that plan has been to get stops and push the pace.

In the half-court, we’ll see if Wendell Carter Jr. is back and starts at center, or if one of Luka’s nemeses, Mo Wagner, gets another start next to his brother Franz in the frontcourt. Franz was the primary defender on Dončić in the last two seasons, but Kentavious Calwell-Pope might get that role tomorrow. Mo Wagner seems like the most obvious—and perhaps the only—weak option to attack in the starting five. With rookie Anthony Black starting next to Jalen Suggs and KCP, the Magic have a great defensive backcourt, and the Mavericks will have to be careful with turnovers and not giving up easy transition looks to Orlando.

There’s always extra motivation for Jamahl Mosley when he coaches against the Mavericks and Dončić, so we can expect another physical, chippy game. Regardless of the defensive strategies and tactics the Magic use, Dallas will need to stay poised and make sharp passes against the fast, aggressive ball hawks the Magic have on the perimeter. If Dončić struggles to score and get the Magic in rotation early, it would be great to see the Mavericks pivot—finding ways for Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson to attack from the second side or running sets with them as primary options.

Mavs on defense | Magic on offense