Mavericks-Wizards preview: All back-to-backs are not created equal

WASHINGTON – The NBA has a rule against forcing teams to cross more than one time zone on the second night of back-to-back games.

But all time-zone jumping is not created equal.

The flight from New Orleans to Washington, which the Mavericks made after getting whipped by the Pelicans 131-110 on Tuesday night took a little over two hours. Plus, they lost the hour going from the Central to the Eastern time zones.

It added up to a 3 a.m. arrival at their hotel in D.C.

These are logistical nightmares that every team endures, but nobody likes.

“It’s tough, and also losing an hour as well,” said Tim Hardaway Jr. as he was heading to the plane out of Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. “We got to get out of here. We thought this team was running fast. We got another track meet tomorrow. So we got to be prepared and ready for them.”

Indeed, scoring has not been a problem for the Wizards, who average more than 115 points per game and are No. 1 in the NBA in pace at nearly 105 possessions per game. Their problem is that they give up more than 122 points per game, ranking 28th in the league.

The challenge of fatigue will be one of the main hurdles for the Mavericks as they try to avoid their first losing streak of the season. After their first two losses, they bounced back with solid wins. And don’t be fooled by the Wizards’ 2-8 record. They haven’t been very good for the past few years, but that hasn’t stopped the Mavericks from losing four consecutive meetings to the Wizards.

Here’s what else to look for when the Mavericks and Wizards hook up Wednesday:

• Luka Dončić is coming off one of his worst games, 16 points (on 5-of-16 shooting), two rebounds, two assists and eight turnovers. He rarely turns in two eyesores in a row. He’s scored under 20 only one other time (18 vs. Chicago) and came back the next game at Denver with 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
• The Mavericks had 20 turnovers against the Pelicans. Grant Williams called it the “Kryptonite” that all of their losses have in common. And, indeed, they have 50 turnovers in the three defeats (16.7 per game) and 87 turnovers in their eight wins (10.9 per game). Against the Pelicans, 17 of the Maverick miscues were via New Orleans steals.
• In the meeting at AAC in January, the Mavericks got beat by the Wizards 127-126 when Kyle Kuzma made one of two free throws with five seconds left and the Mavericks failed to get a shot off on their final possession.
• The Wizards acquired guard Jordan Poole from Golden State in the Chris Paul trade during the offseason and Poole has averaged 16.2 points but shooting just 30.3 percent from three-point range.
• They are led by Kuzma at 24.1 points per game. The Wizards have been starting Kuzma, Poole, Daniel Gafford, Deni Avdija and Tyus Jones.

 

MAVERICKS (8-3) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (2-8)

When, where: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Capital One Arena, Washington.

TV: Bally Sports Southwest.

Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

X: @ESefko