Luka Doncic's Mavs Prepare for 'Very Big Games' vs. Kings: 'It's Going to Be Tough'

With 11 games remaining in the season, the Dallas Mavericks now face arguably their biggest challenge with two consecutive matchups against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and Friday night.

Sacramento Kings v Dallas Mavericks / Ron Jenkins/GettyImages

After nearly a full season of battling through injuries and adjusting to trades, the Dallas Mavericks have finally found their groove, as they've won eight of their last nine games after a 115-105 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Monday night.

Now, with just 11 games remaining in the season, the Mavs face arguably their biggest test with a two-game mini-series on the road against the Sacramento Kings starting on Tuesday night. The Mavs and Kings currently have the same record of 42-29, but Dallas is No. 7 in the West Standings and Sacramento is No. 6 due currently losing the regular-sesaon tiebreaker 2-0.

For the third time this season, the Mavs will be facing the Kings on a second night of a back-to-back, but this time, Sacramento will be on one as well after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Sacramento Kings v Dallas Mavericks / Ron Jenkins/GettyImages

“It’s a game in front of us,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said. “We talked about starting off the [five-game road] trip [right]. This was step one, game one. You could say we maybe passed.

"Now it’s both teams coming off of back-to-back. Sacramento is one of the best teams in the league, tough place to play. So this is a great test for us. We’ll look at what we need to clean up going forward and then we’ll get ready for Sacramento.”

Despite being on a second night of a back-to-back in a tough road environment, one advantage the Mavs might have over the Kings is the element of surprise. Dallas hasn't played Sacramento since acquiring difference-makers Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington at this season's trade deadline. Slight advantage or not, the Mavs aren't taking the Kings lightly.

“Very big games,” Luka Doncic said. “It’s tough to play Sacramento. The crowd’s going, they got a lot of great players. It’s going to be a tough two games for sure. We got to stay together for 48 minutes and be physical.”

With a win, the Mavs would have sole possession of the No. 6 seed in the West with a one-game cushion. With a loss, the Mavs would still occupy the No. 7 seed thanks to the Phoenix Suns losing to the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs on Monday. Regardless of the outcome, both teams will meet again on Friday with multiple days of rest in between.

Given that Dallas is currently losing the season series against Sacramento 2-0, going 2-0 in these next two games would be ideal. With that being said, though, a loss isn't a death sentence, but the Mavs definitely need need to grab at least one win from the Kings to feel good about their chances of avoiding the NBA's Play-In Tournament.

The Mavs have strung together several gritty wins lately, and they're now 10-1 with Gafford starting at center. We'll see if Gafford's paint presence, paired with the star power of Doncic and Kyrie Irving and defensive versatility of Washington will make a difference against the dynamic duo of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.