Mavericks vs. Pistons: 3 Keys To Watch

The Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons will play on Wednesday. There are three keys to keep tabs on in the matchup.

The Dallas Mavericks (49-30) will take on the Detroit Pistons (23-56) in Wednesday's matchup. With the chance to clinch a 50-win season and maintain positioning for home-court advantage, there's a lot for the Mavs to play for in this one.

Coming off a 118-112 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Mavericks will have had two full days off before playing the Pistons.

Here are three key things to watch in tonight’s matchup:

Mavericks' Continued Focus on Defense

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

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No team is going to be perfect throughout an 82-game regular season. There are going to be disappointing losses to teams with bad records, and at times, there will be slippage in some key areas like defense. 

For the Mavericks, avoiding a loss against a short-handed Pistons team that has the third-worst winning percentage in the NBA will be important. Before Sunday's win over the Bucks, Dallas was defeated 135-103 by the Washington Wizards, a non-playoff team. 

The Mavericks have made it a point to tighten up on defense after experiencing some slippage on that front since the All-Star break. From the start of January to the All-Star break, Dallas posted a 104.2 defensive rating (2nd), which declined to a 114.0 defensive rating (14th) from the end of the break through March. 

“If you talk to the teams that have won championships, they all will talk about defense — if you want to win a championship,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “If you want to just be good and have a good season, then you’re going to play offense and offense only.” 

The Pistons are not a high-powered offense by any stretch. However, that in itself can pose a challenge since a winning team can overlook lesser opponents at times. The Philadelphia 76ers learned that firsthand as they were defeated 102-94 by the Pistons on Mar. 31, despite Joel Embiid scoring 37 points. 

Keep An Eye On Saddiq Bey 

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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

In the Mavericks' previous matchup against the Pistons, Bey sorely struggled to get going offensively. He finished with just three points while shooting 1-11 (9.1 percent) from the floor and 1-7 (14.3 percent) on 3s.

Bey has shown this season that when he gets hot, he can pull off some truly big scoring performances. He is coming off a 31-point performance against the Indiana Pacers that featured shooting 7-9 (77.8 percent) on 3s.

After a slow start to the season, Bey has made a substantial impact on the Pistons. He's averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists since the start of December with a 51-point game and six 30-points games.

Much of Bey's scoring production comes out of spot-up but he's shown increasing ability to run ball screens and attack out of isolation. The Mavericks will need to be ready to get out on his jump shots. 

Cade Cunningham vs. Luka Doncic

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Rick Osentowski-USA TODAY Sports

There were quite a few comparisons made between Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic by analysts when Cunningham was going through the NBA Draft process. This game will mark their first matchup against each other. 

When excluding Cunningham's last outing which featured him leaving the game after around eight minutes, he has averaged 21.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists since the NBA All-Star break. 

Another factor to consider, Cunningham is currently in a heated race for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. A big performance against a winning Mavericks team could prove to be helpful in his candidacy.

In speaking of great play since the All-Star break, Doncic has to be at the forefront of that conversation. He's averaging 30.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.9 assists in the 18 games he's played during this stretch. 

Doncic doesn't face much opportunity to become an MVP front-runner at this stage of the season. However, he's one game away from tying Mark Aguirre for the most consecutive 30-point games in Mavericks history.