Mavericks vs Bulls Preview and Game Thread: Dallas hosts Chicago

Dallas hopes to bring this home stand record back to .500

The Dallas Mavericks (4-3) host the Chicago Bulls (3-4) on Wednesday night. It’s the fourth game in this current five-game homestand and Dallas has lost two of the previous three contests. The Mavericks are a bit banged up, which adds a challenge to this match-up against a Bulls team which has shown fire early in the season. Here’s the main things to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Chicago Bulls
• WHAT: Game four of five game home-stand for the Mavericks
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas Texas
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. CST
• HOW: MavsTV, NBA League Pass, Channel 29 (local fans), also Playback with Kirk, Matthew, and David

The Mavericks are going to be pretty short handed, missing a number of guys relative to the first part of the season. Maxi Kleber and Dante Exum are out as they have been, of course. But added to the list is Dereck Lively with a shoulder sprain and he’s listed as doubtful and PJ Washington who is out with a knee sprain.

The Bulls join Dallas with a long report, but most of their guys are actually likely to play. Lonzo Ball is out with a wrist injury (which is disappointing I was looking forward to seeing him play). Zach LaVine is questionable with an abductor strain. Josh Giddey, Patrick Williams, and Jalen Smith are all probable with a variety of issues.

It would be great if the Dallas Mavericks we know and love showed up and played with force, but considering they’re down two guys in their top six, this might be a maddening game. Hopefully, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving can carry the load.

As you can tell below, you can join me and some other Mavs Moneyball guys in a room on Playback (embed below) during the game (though I may not be able to start it until halftime). Also consider joining Josh and I on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start around 10:15 pm. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!