Dallas Mavericks at Philadelphia 76ers 12/20/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Daily Fantasy
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Dallas Mavericks at Philadelphia 76ers Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers have slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference after losing their last two games. They’ll be at home tonight hoping to end that skid against the visiting Dallas Mavericks in the first of their interconference regular-season series against Dallas.
Philadelphia is 20-9, 7-3 in their last 10 games and they have one of the best home records in the NBA at 14-1 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Dallas Mavericks are 18-9, which has them at fifth in the Western Conference. They lost their last game, are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are 10-2 on the road.
The Mavs have done well offensively even with the loss of Luka Doncic, but they’ll be playing against the stingy defense of the 76ers.
TV Schedule
Date: 12/20/19
Time: 8 PM ET
Arena: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Channel: ESPN
Injuries
Mavericks: Seth Curry, Delon Wright (Q), Luka Doncic (O)
76ers: No Injuries
Dallas Mavericks Starting Lineup
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Tim Hardaway Jr.
SF: Dorian Finney-Smith
PF: Kristaps Porzingis
C: Dwight Powell
Mavericks Analysis
The Dallas Mavericks, sans Luka Doncic, had an impressive win earlier this week, ending the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 18-game winning streak with a 120-116 win over the Bucks. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain that success on their Eastern Conference road trip as they fell to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday 109-103.
The Mavs had been led by an MVP campaign from Doncic, but the injury along with other injuries they are suffering is forcing them to find a new identity even if just for the short term.
“As a group, we’re now just getting to know each other on the court,” forward Kristaps Porzingis said. “We have so much room to grow.”
The Mavs limited most of Boston’s scorers but struggled to limit Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum, who had 32, 26 and 24 points apiece. Dallas had four scorers in double figures, but it wasn’t enough, especially as the Celtics rallied in the second half.
Porzingis finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Seth Curry, who is questionable tonight, had 20 points, and Tim Hardaway added 13 points.
Mavericks Quick Links: Mavs Starting Lineup, Mavs Roster, Mavs Depth Chart, Mavs Injuries, Mavs News, Mavs Schedule
Philadelphia 76ers Starting Lineup
PG: Ben Simmons
SG: Josh Richardson
SF: Tobias Harris
PF: Al Horford
C: Joel Embiide
76ers Analysis
The Philadelphia 76ers had a surprising 109-89 loss against the Kyrie Irving-less Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and were unable to bounce back on Wednesday against the Miami Heat 108-104.
The 76ers stepped up their defense and rallied late, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win, especially as they missed several outside shots throughout the game.
“It’s definitely frustrating, but at the end of the day, it’s kind of on us because we essentially missed those shots,” Sixers forward Tobias Harris said. “I don’t think it was until the fourth quarter where we actually started finding ways to break the zone.”
Joel Embiid was a monster on the boards as he finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Tobias Harris had 20 points and Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson had 17 apiece.
76ers Quick Links: 76ers Starting Lineup, 76ers Roster, 76ers Depth Chart, 76ers Injuries, 76ers News, 76ers Schedule
Key Player Matchups
Kristaps Porzingis vs. Al Horford
Porzingis and Horford really are at opposite ends of the power forward spectrum when it comes to skillset. While Horford has shown the ability to play on the perimeter, he seems much more inclined to play down in the post. Porzingis can play all over the floor, and he’s playing a lot more like the Porzingis we’ve been used to seeing in his days as a member of the New York Knicks.
Joel Embiid vs. Dwight Powell
Powell is a nice young player with some upside, but he’s up against it tonight against arguably the NBA’s best center in Joel Embiid. Embiid is likely licking his chops looking forward to this matchup. He’s averaging 22.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. Dallas would be served well by looking at what Miami did with their zone defense to try and limit Embiid and the 76ers.
Daily Fantasy
Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis are fantasy studs for tonight’s game. Embiid is available for $10k on FanDuel and he has a fantasy points projection of 53.1 points. Porzingis has a salary of $8.5k and he is expected to finish with 46.8 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr.and Josh Richardson are value picks. Hardaway is available for $5.3k with a 25.8 projection. Richardson has a FanDuel salary of $5.6k and is projected for 24.5 points.
Bet on Matchup
If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can bet on this matchup. Sports betting is legal in PA. Our top-rated online sportsbook bonus offers can be found in our articles: Fanduel Sportsbook promo code, DraftKings Sportsbook promo code & Pointsbet promo code.
