Mavericks vs. Hornets Preview: 3 things to watch as Dallas travels to Charlotte

The Mavericks aim for their first away win of 2025

The Dallas Mavericks (23-19) face the Charlotte Hornets (10-28) in an early 11am CT Martin Luther King Jr. Day tipoff at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. The Mavericks have had a rough start to 2025, going just 3-9 in January as they deal with injuries from Luka Doncic, and Dereck Lively among others. If they were to beat the Hornets, it would be the Mavericks first away win since beating the Phoenix Suns on December 27. However, Dallas is coming off a big win against the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder and will want to use that as a springboard for success.

The Charlotte Hornets have had a rough season themselves and are just 13th in the Eastern Conference. While the Hornets have a 6-13 record at home, the Mavericks are catching them on a hot streak. Charlotte beat the Jazz and Bulls last week and are looking for their first three game win streak of the season. While Dallas has been dealing with the injury bug, Charlotte hasn’t been fully either. Star forward Brandon Miller will likely be out after suffering a torn ligament in his right wrist in the win over the Utah Jazz. He’s their second leading scorer at 21 points per game and will be a huge miss for the Hornets. We will also miss out on a reunion with Mavericks legend Grant Williams, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL in November.

This game will be the first of two matchups this season with the next game being February 27th at the American Airlines Center.

Shutting down LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball is leading the NBA in field goal attempts with 24.2, which is a full 3.0 attempts more than Tyrese Maxey in second place. Ball also has the highest usage rate in the league at 36.4%. To give some context to that number, Luka Doncic’s usage rate is 31.9%. Considering his playmaking skills, it’s not an exaggeration to say Ball is Charlotte’s offense, especially with Miller out. If the Mavericks can stop Ball, they will win this game.

Even with the myriad of injuries the Mavericks are dealing with, they have a number of guys they can throw at Ball. Dallas will likely start with Klay Thompson on Ball, but expect PJ Washington, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes to get in on the action. Ball’s size and skill make him one of the tougher matchups in the league, but Dallas should be equipped to handle him.

Defensive rebounding

After the Hornets traded Nick Richards to the Suns, it opened up a bigger role for center Mark Williams and he’s been thriving. In his last three games, Williams is playing the best ball of his career, averaging 24.7 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.3 blocks on a crazy efficient 70.2% true shooting. The rebounds will be the biggest concern for a Mavericks team that’s among the worst in the league in giving up offensive rebounds.

The one blemish on an otherwise outstanding win versus the Thunder on Friday night was the Mavericks giving up 20 second chance points off offensive rebounds. Without Doncic, Lively, and likely Dwight Powell, an already bad rebounding team will be worse. This is an issue Dallas will need to solve before the playoffs and in the short term will cost them regular season wins. With Williams playing at an elite level in the paint, the Mavericks will have to be at their best on the boards to win.

Which role players will step up on offense?

The recipe for the Mavericks winning without Luka Doncic is Kyrie Iriving playing like an All Star and two or three role players stepping up to carry the load on offense. While it’s simple to say, it’s much more difficult in practice. The good news is this is one of the deepest Mavericks rosters in recent memory and they have plenty of candidates to breakout on a game by game basis.

Jaden Hardy has had improved production since Doncic’s injury, but he will likely miss this game after a right ankle sprain against the Thunder. Spencer Dinwiddie, P.J. Marshall, and Naji Marshall all had big games in the win against the Thunder and any one of them are liable to step up against the Hornets. Klay Thompson has had an up and down season, but he’s still one of the greatest shooters of all time and can go off on any night.

As the Mavericks deal with one of the worst injury reports in the league, they’re going to lose a few frustrating games, as we’ve seen this month. This game should not be one of them. Look for Dallas to grab their first away win of the season in Charlotte.

How to Watch

This MLK Early Day game starts at 11am on NBAtv but it’s also on channel 29 and MavsTV