Thursday night’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans marks the beginning of a torrid stretch of games — eight straight against teams .500 or better, all of whom are fighting for playoff seeding within a tightly contested Western Conference.
While the Mavericks had a rough January of injuries and defensive struggles, the Pelicans had an arguably worse stretch. While missing their top two players in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the division rival went 3-13 for the month and have lost nine straight after ending December near the top of the west standings at 23-13.
Here are a few things to watch for!