Road Hogs: Mavs at Raptors Preview as Eastern Conference Gauntlet Continues Its Threatening Ways

The Dallas Mavs Are Approaching Christmas With a Visit to The Great North. It's a Raptors Matinee As The Eastern Conference Gauntlet Continues Its Threatening Ways

The Dallas Mavericks are "Road Hogs.'' The Mavericks exited Philly on Friday at 19-9, good for fourth in the Western Conference, and today at 2:30 p.m. CT are at the Toronto Raptors, who like the Sixers before them mirror Dallas' spot in the East.

The Sixers were in fifth in the East, and almost impossible to beat at home ... until the Luka Doncic-less Mavs dismantled them, 117-98, on Friday. Now come the Raptors, a much-changed roster for the defending NBA champs, but still 20-8 - and again, like the Mavs, fourth in their conference.

“The fact we’ve had some success on the road should be a great confidence-builder,'' said Mavs coach Carlisle, who has button-pushed Dallas to an 11-2 record on the road and a successful 2-2 mark during this week-long string of tough Eastern foes. "At some point, we got to pick it up at home. But right now, we got one road game left before Christmas and that’s where our sights are set.

"The most important thing is playing hard.”

For Dallas, even as Doncic nurses an ankle injury that could allow him to return within the week, that's been a given - at least away from home where the Mavs will try to keep their seven-game road win streak intact today.

The Raptors pretty much don't lose at home, sporting a 12-3 mark in Toronto. Of course, the same could be said for the Lakers and the Rockets, West powers victimized by Dallas' road-hogging earlier this season, and by Milwaukee (winners of 18 straight before Dallas' Monday encounter) and by the Sixers (who are now sniping at one another as the result of Dallas' win.

From Al Horford: "Defensively, there's too many blown coverages, the five of us not being connected enough every time ... It just felt very isolated out there. .. That's a good team over there, but they don't even have Luka. Definitely a cause for concern for our group.”

From Josh Richardson: "We’ve just gotta play a little more for each other.''

From Joel Embiid: "We were playing scared.''

In summary? The Mavs - from their zone defense to their long-range shooting to their attacks on the rim - got into the Sixers' heads. Now they need to do it again in Canada, in a rematch from Nov. 16 in Dallas, when the Mavs won 110-102.

The Raptors will have Kyle Lowry, who leads them with 7.4 assists and scores 19.5 points per game. And Serge Ibaka is a weapon. But they'll be without Norman Powell, Stanley Johnson, Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam, making it all the more difficult for them to corral the likes of Kristaps Porzingis (four straight 20/10 games) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (over the last 10 games settling in at 14.6 points per).

The Mavs have the best offense in the NBA and the best road record, too. Combine both of those this afternoon and this can be a 3-2 survival of the East challenge.

"At home (where Dallas is just 8-7), I don’t know why we haven’t been playing that well,'' Porzingis said. "That’s something we want to get better at. But playing well on the road, that’s a very important part of having a great record at the end of the season.”