Mavericks vs Pistons Preview, Injury Report, and Game Thread: Kessler’s last stand

The former Texas big man is here to play ball

The Dallas Mavericks (33-37) attempt to stymie their long, dark slide to irrelevance when hosting the Detroit Pistons (39-31) Friday night. Dallas has just three wins since the All-Star break and they’ve lost nine of ten. The Pistons Detroit’s on an upswing, winning six of their last ten and hope to start a real win streak after winning against New Orleans and Miami. Here’s the things to know prior to the game:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons
• WHAT: Searching for a win
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
• WHEN: 7:300 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA, MavsTV, and Playback with Kirk and David

Dallas is actually getting healthier! Here’s who is out for this contest: Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, Dante Exum, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are all out for their various injuries. Caleb Martin is missing yet another game with his hip injury. Klay Thompson is back after an illness. Brandon Williams is probable after missing the last game with a hamstring issue. That’s all we’ve got! That’s not bad! Okay it’s still bad but it’s better than it has been! Jaden Hardy is out for the season for Detroit after breaking his leg.

One thing we must continue to say about these Mavericks is that they play really hard. Every game has been entertaining and that’s not nothing in a season that’s on the brink. There are fans who want Dallas to keep fighting, so we’ll see if they can stay in the NBA Play-In discussion.

As you can tell below, you can join me and some other Mavs Moneyball guys in a room on Playback (embedded 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 after the game. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!