The Dallas Mavericks would rather not participate in the play-in game. For that reason, they must not waste Saturday night’s opportunity.

Their next opponent, the Pistons, who have won 10 games so far this season, will be in Detroit.

As far as the Western Conference is concerned, Dallas is in seventh place. The first round of the playoffs will be automatically qualified for the top six finishers.

On Thursday, the Mavericks beat the Heat 114-108 to end a three-game losing run.

“Every game is critical for us,” swingman Dante Exum stated.  Before we can enter the playoffs as a cohesive unit, we need to establish our position. We can outscore anybody on offence if we can lock down defence.

In their last six games, Dallas’ defence allowed 120–138 points, indicating that it was poor. During that time, the Mavs shot 54.2% from the field and managed just one victory, a 136-125 victory at Toronto.

It came down to the last seconds to determine their victory versus the Heat. With 3 minutes and fifteen seconds remaining, Exum hit a 3-pointer to put us up. Exum made two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to give his team a three-point lead and seal the win.

“Miami is a relentless squad. This team has a winning coach,” Luka Doncic remarked. The game was challenging. I’m glad we prevailed. I believe we also displayed our physicality. The officials were allowing us to play.

Saturday is Doncic’s chance to create history. With his 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Heat, he became just the second player in NBA history to accomplish five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles. In 2017, Russell Westbrook amassed five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles.

With an average of 34.6 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.0 rebounds, Doncic leads the league.

“I’ve always said we can’t take that young man for granted,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stated.  “You’re seeing something as rare as a Picasso.”

It is also unusual for the Pistons to come out on top. In the first game of a six-game homestand, Detroit defeated the Brooklyn Nets 118–112 on Thursday. The Red Wings entered the contest having lost nine of their prior ten games.

Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, the starting backcourt for the Pistons, scored 66 points apiece. Eleven assists were also distributed by Cunningham.

“When we’re on the floor together, there’s going to be shots open for us,” said Ivey. We benefit much when we keep making the correct plays for the team as a whole, and we must keep reviewing tape to identify our weaknesses. We had hoped to end it that way on Thursday.

For the time being, the Pistons are unsure if Cunningham and Ivey can play together as a backcourt.

“It’s mainly on me and (Ivey’s) approach to the game, being aggressive and making plays for our team,” said Cunningham. It must not be a’my turn, your turn’ scenario. Neither of us can leave until we do it simultaneously.

We grab it as soon as it lands in our hands. It is something that we discuss frequently. All we’re doing is learning from each game, but we’ve always wanted to do this. In my opinion, things have been looking up recently.

This matchup between the Mavs and the Pistons is the first of two in a three-game series. The second match will take place in Dallas on April 12th.