Dallas Mavericks: Please bring a win over the Spurs for the holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all Dallas Mavericks fans out there. With the big day now behind us, the Mavs focus on their big day against the San Antonio Spurs.

This time of year is always full of excitement and more things to do than time in the day. This is even more true if you are a sports fan. The NBA has been playing games on Christmas Day for the past 70 years and many of us are able to find time to watch. It’s been especially easy for Dallas Mavericks fans.

Since the NBA first started playing games on December 25th, the Mavs have only done so on three occasions. Surprisingly, there are actually four NBA teams with fewer appearances on Christmas Day: the Minnesota Timberwolves (2), Toronto Raptors (2), Memphis Grizzlies (0) and Charlotte Hornets (0).

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the New York Knicks (53), Los Angeles Lakers (46), Boston Celtics (33), Detroit Pistons (32) and Philadelphia 76ers (32).

Despite not getting the nod from the NBA schedule planners, the Mavs do at least get to play the day after Christmas when many people are still in the holiday sports mood. That is the case this year as the Mavs prepare to take on the San Antonio Spurs. This is the second meeting between the interstate rivals. The Mavs won the first one 117-110, although the score did not reflect the game.

For this game, the Mavs may be shorthanded once again, although the chances that Luka Doncic plays tonight are looking much better than they have since the injury happened. If Dallas does not have Luka again, this one could be interesting as the Mavs historically struggle against the Spurs and the Spurs are slowly fighting their way back into playoff contention.

Dallas has played well lately despite missing their best player, but it still resulted in a 2-3 record against the beasts of the Eastern Conference and four losses in the past seven games. If Luka does make it back for tonight’s game, he will need to hit the ground running as the Mavs really need to get back on track over the next several games.

If Dallas isn’t careful, they could still run into a few roadblocks over the next few games. After the Spurs, Dallas plays Golden State then the Los Angeles Lakers in a West Coast back-to-back. They then take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, currently sitting at 7th in the West.

The Dallas Mavericks take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 7:00pm central time. The game will be televised on TNT as well as the local stations. Dallas is currently 1-0 against the Spurs on the season with two more matchups to go after this one.