Dallas Mavericks game preview: Locked On Mavs comments ahead of Bulls game

less than 8 hours to go until tip off here as the Dallas Mavs visit Chicago tonight to take on the Bulls it's a game you can see live right here tonight on WFAA joining us right now with a preview is Nick angstead the host of the locked on Mavericks podcast good morning to Nick morning Cleo let's play some ball tonight all right I love your energy I've been watching your stuff on YouTube as well Luca now Luca he made history this weekend recording his six straight triple double with at least 30

points could we see him extend that streak tonight if the question you're asking is can Luca do something the answer is always yes just it doesn't matter whatever it is at this point in his career I think we've seen enough to know if he needs to score 30 points get 10 boards get 10 assists and do it again against this Bulls team he absolutely can he is one of the most singular talents we have in the NBA and one of the top five players in the world that's what I'm talking about what about the res

t of the team who do you expect to step up tonight yeah I'm interested to see what Kyrie Irving can do tonight because we've seen some games recently where he's got you know 21 points on 18 shots which is not like the most efficient scoring game for him we're used to seeing him score a little bit more efficiently than that he's shooting the ball well still but I'm looking to see where he picks his spots in the last game against the the Pistons he really went after the first quarter and the third

quarter to try and Kickstart this team and really set a tone and I think I'm interested to see where Kyrie goes in this game me too hey Nick what do you think are I guess the keys to a m win tonight like a really good win a really good win would be a dominating one from start to finish which they didn't get against the Pistons necessarily so they've got to lock in on defense that's been the big thing this whole stretch recently Mavs just recently lost five of six games that was a real tough str

etch for him and their defensive effort and intensity was just not there at all it didn't seem like they were really locked in on that end so for them to get a like guaranteed win like a really good feeling win is to lock in on that end of the ball and then turn that into offense on the other side side G you know the Mavs they're just a game behind Phoenix for six Place really trying to secure a playoff spot I guess but but how do they compare right now to the teams ahead of them yeah they're in

this this wild spot right now where you start looking around the standings they're a game back from Phoenix but Phoenix plays the Cavs tonight so it looks like just like in 2011 when all the Cavs fans are rooting for the Mavs now all the Mavs fanss are rooting for the Cavs tonight and so if the if they lose there and the Mavs win tonight then they'll be right there with Phoenix they own the tiebreaker with Phoenix so that's is good for for them and then uh yeah they're trying to catch that five

six spot so they can stay out of the playin and Nick one more question before we go the Bulls are ninth right now trying to get into the playin for the playoffs what do you expect from them I don't know what to expect from them they are just one of those weird middle of the road team Zack LaVine is not going to play tonight but weirdly they have played better without Zack LaVine this season their net rating they score you know more points per 100 possessions and and allow less for 100 possessio

ns when Zack LaVine isn't playing and so I don't really know what to expect Kobe White's been really good for them you still have Demar D rozan they take a lot of mid-range shots they've got Alex Caruso who's a good Defender and so they've got some pieces but it just don't really know what that team is doing overall and especially this season you never know what to expect oh I I know I said last question but I'm going to fit one more in Mass fans how are they feeling right now I think the the an

ger and the frustration from that losing stretch I think has kind of quelled a little bit you've got two games it feels like the Mavericks just need to build up a little bit more of a foundation and so I think Mavs fans are are maybe like uh optimistically frustrated maybe maybe it's that maybe they're not fully frustrated yet but they're just like right there we'll see what happens Nick you're so awesome thank you so much for joining us here on midday you know you can watch and catch new episod

es of the locked on maths podcast with Nick daily trust me he's got that energy all the time download it anywhere you get your podcast tonight's game against the Bulls is at 700 p.m. it's one of 10 games that you can watch live right here on WFAA and a programming note for you tonight's new episode of The Bachelor can be seen on our digital channel 8.2 or it will Air at 21 or 2 11 a.m. on our um main channel so you won't have to miss