Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets: Match Preview and Predictions - 24th November 2019
Match details
Fixture: Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets
Date & Time: Sunday, 24 November 2019, 3:30 pm ET
Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Last game results
Dallas Mavericks (10-5): 143-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers (Friday, November 22nd, 2019)
Houston Rockets (11-5): 119-122 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (Friday, November 22nd, 2019)
Dallas Mavericks Preview
The Dallas Mavericks are tied with the Utah Jazz for fifth seed in the Western Conference, having won 10 games and lost five. They have won four in a row though, and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Sunday afternoon, they visit the Toyota Center in Houston to play the Rockets.
They secured a blowout victory on Friday over the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to 30 points from Luka Doncic and six other Mavericks players scoring in double digits.
Key Player – Luka Doncic
The Dallas Mavericks replaced former superstar Dirk Nowitzki before his retirement last April when they acquired Luka Doncic at the 2018 NBA Draft.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year is having another splendid season for the Mavericks. Doncic is currently averaging eight points more than last season per game at 29.9, and a near triple-double with 9.7 assists and 10.4 rebounds.
Doncic could be both the most improved player and the league MVP if he continues at this pace in 2020.
Mavericks predicted lineup
Tim Hardaway Jr., Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell
Houston Rockets’ Preview
Sunday afternoon sees a regional contest between the NBA’s two Texas franchises, Dallas and Houston. The Rockets, 11-5 on the season, are 8-2 in their last 10 games but are on a two-game losing streak.
Friday night the Rockets played the Los Angeles Clippers in a close affair that ended 122-119 for the Clippers.
The Rockets did blow an 11-point third-quarter lead and Russell Westbrook missed a late three-point attempt with the score 120-119 in favor of the Clippers. James Harden scored 37 in this game along with 12 assists.
Key Player – James Harden
James Harden is in the conversation as an early candidate for league MVP, which is an annual occurrence. This year Harden is averaging 38.3 points, 7.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Harden was struggling early with his three-point shooting but it is up to 35 percent now. The Houston Rockets run plays 39 percent of the time through Harden when he is on the court, so his play is a major component of their offensive output.
Rockets predicted lineup
Russell Westbrook, James Harden, PJ Tucker, Ben McLemore, Clint Capela
Rockets vs Mavericks Match Prediction
The Dallas Mavericks are playing well coming into this game; they are 4-2 on the road and are on a four-game winning streak. They are averaging 117.4 points a game this season too. Their performance on Friday was especially ominous as seven of their players scored more than 10 points, led by Luka Doncic with 30.
The Houston Rockets have lost their last two games but are a strong 6-1 at home. The Rockets are extremely dependent on scoring from James Harden but they do get 21.9 points a game from Russell Westbrook. A major area of concern for the Rockets is depth.
The Rockets got 21 points Friday night from their substitutes, led by Austin Rivers with 10 points. It’s not just the lack of point production that's a concern though; Rivers was the only one who played more than 20 minutes off the bench, at 31 minutes.
The Dallas Mavericks will extend their winning streak on Sunday in Houston.
Where to watch Rockets vs Mavericks?
You can stream the game live online with NBA League Pass. The game can be watched on TV on FSSW-DAL, AT&TSN-SW.