Dallas Mavericks issued intense challenge that could make or break their season

Heading into tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks are 43-29 on the year and they have won nine of their last 10 games after their win against the Kings on Tuesday night.

The Mavericks are dominating on both ends of the floor, and they turned one of the worst defenses in the league into one of the best units in the NBA after the trade deadline. Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington have been a big reason for this turnaround, but everyone else has been bought in as well.

These two games against the Kings are two of the most crucial games remaining this season, and they already won their first game of the two on Tuesday night. Now is their chance to tie the series up at two games apiece.

Dallas Mavericks issued intense challenge that could make or break their season

An NBA Analyst recently issued a big challenge to the Mavs, and it could make or break their season as every game matters.

On the All NBA Podcast, NBA Analyst Tim Legler challenged the Mavericks to "make a definite statement about how serious (they) are...Come out and beat them (the Kings) again by 20, 25 (points)."

This is a huge challenge from Legler, as the Kings are still one of the better teams in the Western Conference, and the Mavs would be on top of the world if they could blow out the Kings again.

This challenge from Legler is much more important than people realize because if the Kings win, they win the tiebreaker over the Mavs. Positioning in the standings is everything at this point of the year, and if the Mavs end the year tied with the Kings, they could be forced into a much less favorable matchup in the playoffs.

This isn't to say that Dallas' season is over if they lose tonight, as they are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, but a win could end up making a huge difference at the end of the year. Legler's challenge will be a tough one, especially since Luka Doncic is questionable tonight.

Heading into Tuesday night's game against the Kings, Doncic was also questionable, but he battled through it. Doncic's availability obviously gives the Mavs a much better shot of fulfilling Legler's challenge, but Kyrie Irving has also proved that he can carry the load off the bench when needed.

Doncic and Irving have morphed into one of the best duos in the NBA, and if Doncic plays tonight, the Kings could be in trouble.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Dallas Mavericks this season, stay tuned.