Soft Landing? Mavs at Wizards GAMEDAY Preview: Porzingis is IN

Tonight Marks the Beginning of a 'Soft Landing' Portion of the Dallas Mavericks' Schedule ... Our Mavs at Wizards GAMEDAY Preview As The Visitors are a Bit Bloodied and Broken - and Porzingis is IN

The Dallas Mavericks emerged from the NBA Trade Deadline with an intriguing "almost'' (in Danny Green) but ultimately with a "We Love Our Boys In Blue'' conclusion. So we move onto Washington for tonight's  meeting at the Wizards, where Dallas begins a "softy'' portion of the schedule.

Game Time: 6 p.m. CT

Location: Capital One Arena, Washington

TV/Radio: FSSW, 103.3 FM, Univision, 1270 AM (Spanish)

Records: Mavericks (31-20), Wizards (17-32)

Guard Bradley Beal is carrying the load in D.C., averaging 29 points per game but with John Wall out for the year getting very little help from a supporting cast that features some G-League-level names along with old friend Ian Mahinmi, who could start at center. Beyond Beal, one of the few respectable things about the Wiz is their 11-12 record at home - and even that's a stretch to be called "respectable.''

Dallas is battered and bruised and bloodied and even broken, if you count Kristaps Porzingis' nose. He's questionable, as are Seth Curry (knee) and J.J. Barea (ankle) and of course Luka Doncic (ankle) is set to miss a fifth consecutive game and and Dwight Powell (Achilles surgery) is out for the year.

UPDATE: KP, Curry and JJB are in for tonight.

#Mavs say guards J.J. Barea (left ankle sprain), Seth Curry (left knee tightness), and forward Kristaps Porzingis (facial injury) will all be available tonight at #Wizards per @MavsPR pic.twitter.com/ib0TCvmu8n

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) February 7, 2020

But ... of the Mavs' next 12 games, 10 are against teams with losing records. There will be nights, and portions of the schedule, when winning without Luka and (maybe) KP will be a challenge. The next dozen games are, instead, an opportunity for Dallas to climb from its present seventh-place perch in the West.

"Ugly game for us," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the Wednesday home loss to Memphis in which KP sustained a broken nose. "We're going to have to do a lot better. I'm going to have to do a better job of getting these guys ready."

Ready to play hard ... especially as the schedule is soft.