Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks game preview

The win streak was fun while it lasted, but now the Houston Rockets have to get back on track.

Finishing up their longest remaining road trip tonight in Dallas, the Rockets are primed for a sprint to the finish. Houston got help from the Blazers and remain one game up in the loss column over the Warriors.

The Rockets and Mavs conclude their season series tonight. Houston swept Dallas last season and are going for the double tonight.

For Dallas, the Mavs were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Friday. Their season has been marred by the recent Sports Illustrated report about front office issues with sexual harassment. We’re not going to delve into that, but I will say that it was nice to see that the players were never involved and that the locker room felt like a safe place. The stereotype is that athletes are young kids that think they should get whatever they want. The fact that Mavericks players treated everyone with respect was a nice thing to read in the context of that piece.

Anyway, back to basketball. This should be a game Houston wins comfortably. The Rockets need to get back to their winning ways and Dallas is looking to tank. They are tied for the third-fewest losses and if they want a shot at a top 3 spot in the lottery they must keep dropping games.

The Mavs played the Rockets close the last time these teams met in Houston, and that was without Dirk Nowitzki, Wesley Matthews, and J.J. Barea. Hopefully tonight will be a smoother game.

I expect Houston to come out hungry to put this one away early. They are probably upset about dropping their first game in over a month to Toronto and are looking to take that frustration out on someone.

Tip-off is at 6pm CT