Pre-Game Preview : Mavs VS Cavs

By Crystal Carroll

Dallas looks to wrap three on the road tonight as they hope to take it to 3-0 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following their 113-92 win over the Pacers and the 130-99 win over the Rockets the Mavs are primed for the battle against the 11-5 Cavs tonight at the Quicken Loans Arena.

It's Looking Like Dirk Thirty - Against the Pacers Dirk moved to his 5th 30 plus game of the season. He led all scorers with 31 points while shooing 10 for 14 from the field and adding 11 from the charity stripe.

Stepping Up The D - It is not a secret that Dallas has been building their defense in the off season, but perhaps it has not showed as much as it did last night as Dallas had an advantage of rebound of 21 as they pulled down 54 in play. They have held the last two opponents to a season low which moves the Mavs to 9-0 when they out rebound by 10 or more. The Mavs are now ranked 3rd in the league in rebounds per game and have 5 players pulling down at least 5.6 per game.

Humphries More Than Just A Fan Favorite - He might be off the bench, but he has become a fan favorite, especially with the ladies. But much more than a favorite for his looks alone he is earning his place in in the list of players to watch on this dynamic team as he surpassed his season high in rebounding with 10 boards and had his first double-double of the season with 12 points.

Moving On Up - It only took a great game like Houston to remind the Mavs that they can be that harshly accurate bucketing team as they shot 65.5% in play from the floor and moved to the second highest shooting percentage record in the league. The last time they shot that high was way back when most of us Mavs fans were still wee little MFFL's in 1983.

Ready, Set, Start - Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Drew Gooden, Rodrigue Beaubois and Jason Kidd look to kick off this one in Cleveland as they prepare to meet King James and crew. Marion added 13 points and 8 rebounds in addition to a block in 30 minutes in his last game, again showing his team that the line up is stronger with him and his monster contributions. Dirk took it to the next level in play as he hit his 11th straight game of 20 or more and had his 7th double double. He currently averages 27.1 PPG in 38 minutes. Drew Gooden might have hit a slump in Indy but that said nothing considering he has been averaging 12 points in the previous 2 games and overall has had 4 double-doubles this season. Roddy B has been in the place of Josh Howard over the last 8 games and is looking to be the guard of the future. He has had 2 games with 10 or more and is a burst onto the court in his 14 minutes as he adds momentum to the game like none other with his fearless drives. Jason Kidd moved to 2nd in all-time assist leaders for a reason, he averages 8.9 per game this season and recorded the only rebound and assist double-double of the season in the league.

Take A Ride On The Stat Train - Dallas has won 12 of the last 17 against Cleveland however have dropped the last 3 overall. They are 24 - 32 overall and 10-18 on the road. In each of the two losses last season the Mavs were held to less than 90 points while Cleveland crossed the century mark.