The next two games on the Mavericks’ schedule are Christmas gifts from the NBA, but is Dallas in any kind of shape to take advantage of them? We’ll find out Wednesday when the Mavs (11-8) host the Utah Jazz (7-13) in the teams’ first meeting of the year at the American Airlines Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Southwest.
The NBA assigned the Jazz and the Portland Trailblazers as the Mavericks’ next two opponents when the In-Season Tournament quarterfinalists were finalized last week. Neither the Mavs nor their next two opponents will be playing on in the tourney, and missing out may have played into Dallas’ favor here, as Utah and Portland have a combined record of 13-26.