3 things to watch for as the Milwaukee Bucks take on Dallas Mavericks

The Milwaukee Bucks will need to take advantage of an undermanned Dallas Mavericks team

This is the rare game where the team who is coming off of a game the night before, with travel, will be favored to win. The Mavs could be missing three of their leading four leading scorers depending on the status of Kristaps Porzingis.

Regardless of if the big man plays, the Bucks should be considered the favorites and will need to take advantage in a situation where they’d be likely to lose under most circumstances.

The Mavs have given the Bucks a ton of trouble since Luka Doncic came into the league, going 1-3 against Dallas in that stretch. As I mentioned, Doncic won’t play tonight and even though Milwaukee won’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo, they’ll have the upper hand with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton in the lineup.

The Mavs will likely be relying on guard Jalen Brunson to carry most of the offensive load as well as Dorian Finney-Smith taking on a larger role. In their most recent game (a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves), Brunson and Finney-Smith led the way with a combined 47 points and six 3-pointers.

The shorthanded Bucks are better than the shorthanded Wolves, but also on short rest. The Mavs will be competitive and want to pick up another win without their top two players, so they’ll get their best shot. It’s a winnable game, but things may not be easy.