Mavericks vs Suns Preview, Injury Report and Game Thread: Pressing on without Luka Doncic

Dallas heads back out on the road

The Dallas Mavericks (19-11) head back out on the road Friday night and will faceoff against the Phoenix Suns (15-14). It will be the first of man games for the Dallas Mavericks without Luka Doncic who went down against the Timberwolves in Christmas Day. Dallas is coming off a loss in that game despite a furious comeback where they were down 28 points. Phoenix held off the Denver Nuggets in their Christmas Day game.

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns
• WHAT: The start of a road trip
• WHERE: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
• WHEN: 8:00 p.m. CST
• HOW: Channel 29, MavsTV, and Playback with Kirk, Matthew, and David

One game after saying the Dallas injury report is clearing up, we’re back to trying to read the tea leaves. We know Luka Doncic is out but we have no idea how long; today’s news from Shams is Dallas will re-evaluate Doncic in a month, so I think it’s going to be a while. Dante Exum is still out. Dereck Lively is listed as questionable with a hip issue, an injury that likely occurred during the comeback against the Wolves. The Suns are also banged up; Devin Booker is out with a groin issue. Grayson Allen is missing the game as well as a result of a concussion. Bol Bol will also not play due to a left knee contusion.

This game feels like a toss up at best. The Suns are not a good match up for Dallas this season, with Dallas losing the first two games of the season series. Kevin Durant is such a bear to guard and the Suns are excellent at getting the shots they want. Keeping Nurkic off the glass will be key, so strong performances on the boards from Likely (if he plays) and Gafford will be key. This would also be a good game for PJ to show up for in a big way. We’ll also see if Jason Kidd elects to use Naji Marshall more.

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 around 11:00 pm. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!