Game Info

When: Tuesday, November 6 at 8:30 pm Eastern Time
Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
TV: NBA TV, NBC Sports Washington

Injury Report

Wizards: Otto Porter Jr. (Questionable, Toe)

Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (Out, Ankle), Devin Harris (Out, Hamstring), Luka Doncic (Questionable, Ankle)

What to Watch for

Hey defense!

Last game was the first time this season that the Wizards kept their opponent under 100 points. What impressed Coach Scott Brooks most about the team’s win against the Knicks was their defense.

“It was nice to see below 100”, Brooks said after the game. “We haven’t seen that. I think the guys competed. We started off the game with our best defense of the early season and then we finished that. We’ve had some struggles in the fourth quarter stopping teams and they had a couple of hot players, small guys that were attacking. Their wing players were attacking and I thought we took the challenge to guard the guys individually and not look for help and moved your feet. Seventeen points in the fourth quarter defensively. That’s about as good as we can get.”

The Mavericks, who are also 2-7, recently lost to the Knicks 118-106 and with Nowitzki out and potentially Doncic, Washington has a good chance to come out on top if they play well. If their defense can keep the Mavericks under 100 points, even better.

Austin Rivers is still finding his fit and doing the hard work

“The offense will come”, Rivers said after posting just 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in Sunday’s game against the Knicks. “Going into these games, I need to be a dog on defense.”

Although he didn’t bring in big numbers, it was his defense that was impressive. In the post-game press conference Coach Brooks described Rivers’ performance as his best this season because he was able to make an impact in the backcourt, locking down his man.

It’s only a matter of time that Rivers finds his place but for now, at least, the Wizards can count on him to defend.

Fans want to see more Troy Brown Jr.

There’s already a “Free Troy Brown” social media campaign. He only played one minute in the team’s last matchup against the Knicks but in the Wizards’ game against OKC, he was on the floor for 10 minutes. In those minutes, Brown Jr. scored 7 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had one steal.

This game might be perfect for Brown Jr. to get some floor time.

While Summer League is far different from the regular season, the rookie had an impressive 25 points against the Mavericks in July.

A random moment in Wizards - Mavericks history: Nick Young scores off of a 360 reverse layup in 2011