2 tricks and 2 treats before the Mavericks host the Houston Rockets in a monster Halloween matchup

Dallas has owned this series in recent years, but the Rockets are looking to climb the ranks of the NBA’s Western Conference.

The Monster Mash is on for Thursday at the American Airlines Center in a very scary matchup between the Dallas Mavericks (3-1) and Houston Rockets (2-2). Tipoff for the Halloween-themed clash is scheduled for 7:30.

The Mavericks have won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the in-state rivals over the last three seasons, including the last three at home. The teams’ last meeting was an instant late-season classic, a 147-136 overtime thriller in Dallas featuring a last-second 3-point heave from Dante Exum to tie the game in regulation. Dallas poured it on in OT to secure their 14th win in 16 games down the stretch. Exum, the hero of that game, is out for the latest installment in the series after having wrist surgery earlier this month. It will likely be 2025 before he returns to the Mavs’ lineup.

Both of these teams think they are in their ascendency in the NBA’s Western Conference but at two totally different points in their development. The Mavericks are far more of a polished, finished product at this point, even as the new pieces on the revamped roster just begin to coalesce. The core is formed in Dallas and humming along. It’s still taking shape in Houston, behind Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.

Here are two tricks and two treats to watch out for as we prepare for Thursday’s Halloween spooktacular.

Trick: Luka’s tough shooting start

Without the benefit of much time on the court during preseason play, Luka Dončić is still working some rust off his jumper to start the season. Dončić is shooting just 36.4% from the field and a ghastly 26.8% from 3-point range through four games.

But this hasn’t been the disaster of epic proportions it would have been in previous seasons because it’s already become obvious — this is one of the deepest Mavs teams in franchise history. Besides, as he works out the kinks, Dončić still seems to be able to summon the shooting stroke like a bolt of lightning when he absolutely needs it in the game’s biggest moments. He called down the thunder with 1:04 left to play from about 33 feet away, parallel to the Minnesota Timberwolves logo, to put the Mavs up 117-109 after missing his first seven from 3-point range in Tuesday’s win over the Wolves.

We’ve got a sneaking suspicion that Luka’s outside shot will be fine, perhaps even as soon as this matchup against the Rockets. In his last six outings against Houston, Dončić has scored no fewer than 35 points and has gone over the 40-point market twice and reached 50 points once, in a 112-106 win on Dec. 23, 2022. He shot a combined 53.9% from the field in those last six meetings.

Treat: Winning the turnover battle

The Mavericks’ calling card continues to be taking care of the ball. Dallas has picked up right where the team left off last year in terms of turnover rate to start the 2024-25 campaign. The Mavs were tied for third in turnover rate (12.4%) with the Chicago Bulls last year and are third to start this season, at 10.8%. Turnover rate, of course, measures the percentage of a team’s possessions that end in a turnover.

However, the Rockets are holding their own in that category as well to start the year. Entering Thursday’s game, the Rockets sit in eighth in the NBA in turnover rate (12.8%). Houston has won the turnover battle in three of the team’s four games so far and has committed 12 or fewer in three of their first four as well.

Trick: Jalen Green taking the next step

If the first four games of the season are any evidence, we are at the start of a transformational year for the Rockets’ fourth-year shooting guard Jalen Green. He’s commanding more volume and putting up big numbers in the team’s first four games and has Rockets fans wondering if this will be the year he rounds into All-Star form.

Green is en fuego at the moment, scoring 28.8 points on 43% from the field and better than 41% from 3-point range, too. The efficiency may not be all the way there yet, but the volume sure is. Green has gotten up 22 shots per game to start the season.

Green is a smaller shooting guard at 6-4, so it will be interesting to see what defensive approach the Mavs take against him. The Mavericks threw the kitchen sink at Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards Tuesday, including defensive looks from Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes at times. But in the first quarter, when Edwards went off for 24 of his game-high 37 points, the Dallas defense got caught going under screens far too often. Green won’t hesitate to smoke the Mavs from the perimeter if they repeat that error on Thursday.

Treat: Thompson fits like a glove

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Klay Thompson is getting some of the best open 3-point looks of his career to start the season, and he is cashing in on them. This is simply what happens when you pair one of the best 3-point shooters in the history of the game with one of the best 3-point shot creators in the history of the game, or at least that’s what the stats are bearing out at this early juncture of the season.

Through four games in Dallas, Thompson is averaging 3.7 wide-open three attempts per game, according to NBA.com’s tracking data. “Wide-open” attempts are classified as the nearest defender being six or more feet away. With Golden State last season, Thompson was averaging 2.3 of those “wide-open” attempts.

He’s been better than advertised through four games, probably because this is the most open he’s been in his life. And the way this Mavericks roster has been built, that becomes not only a relatively simple proposition, but a profoundly repeatable one over 82 games as well.

How to watch

Stream Mavericks vs. Rockets on the MavsTV streaming app or NBA League Pass. Local and regional viewers can also watch over the airwaves on KFAA, Channel 29-1. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT.