The Dallas Mavericks (25-55) head back to the Lone Star state Friday night to face off against their division rivals, the San Antonio Spurs (61-19). It\u2019s the last road game of the last road trip of the season, and it\u2019s one that might have some real sway as far as the offseason goes. At the time of writing, Dallas finds themselves in a dead heat with the Memphis Grizzlies for the sixth best lottery odds, and only one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans. The outcome of these last couple matchups may make the difference between a Mikel Brown Jr. and an AJ Dybantsa.<\/p>\n
The Spurs enter Friday evening without much of a concern. They\u2019ve won four of their last five, 13 of their last 15, and they\u2019ve mathematically locked themselves into the two-seed \u2013 most likely setting them up for a easy first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers or the Phoenix Suns. Victor Wembanyama did recently suffer a left rib contusion against the Philadelphia 76ers, causing him to miss the last couple outings; however, it\u2019s expected that he\u2019ll suit up either against Dallas Friday night or the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, clearing the way for his first career postseason appearance.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are about as far afield as you can get from meaningful postseason basketball. They put up a pretty decent showing against the Luka Don\u010di\u0107-less, Austin Reaves-less Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday, but then collapsed back to the norm against the Clippers Tuesday night and the Suns on Wednesday. There\u2019s a subtle poetry to the fact that Dallas\u2019 last two losses are San Antonio\u2019s two most likely first-round matchups \u2013 almost like the basketball gods are reminding us just how far this team is from contending.<\/p>\n
Here are three storylines to follow as the Mavericks play their last road game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
Mavericks role players making their case<\/p>\n
Now that we\u2019re arriving at the end of the regular season, it\u2019s time to start making some decisions regarding the future of this roster. Dallas\u2019 role players certainly know this \u2013 and they\u2019re making their last-ditch attempts to leave an impression on the front office. C-teamer John Poulakidas has been an interesting watch in this depleted Mavericks squad, most notably putting up 23 against the Suns on Wednesday. Moussa Ciss\u00e9 and Marvin Bagley III also continue to make their case, with the latter of the two scoring a combined 41 over the last two outings.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, things have looked rougher for Khris Middleton recently, and AJ Johnson\u2019s first real outing wasn\u2019t especially inspiring. As pointed out by Mavs Moneyball\u2019s Joe Friedman, Johnson went a brutal 1-11 from the field<\/a> against the Suns, with many of those possessions stalling out what little offensive flow the Mavericks could generate. Whether Johnson is a part of Dallas\u2019 future remains to be seen; as far as the 2025-2026 season goes, he and the others only have a couple more in-game opportunities to show what they\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n Young superstars leading the way<\/p>\n If there\u2019s one thing that Dallas and San Antonio has in common right now, it\u2019s that they\u2019ve pushed all their chips in on their young superstars. For the Mavericks, this hasn\u2019t quite paid dividends yet. Cooper Flagg has been absolutely transcendent, yes, filling just about every role imaginable while also posting some mind-boggling scoring figures (51 against the Orlando Magic and 45 against the Lakers, most recently). But his efforts haven\u2019t quite translated to wins this season \u2013 most likely, this will require some very intentional work over the next couple years to fill roster gaps and develop a team that effectively complements his skillset.<\/p>\n