The Mavericks Week Ahead: November 26-December 2

A very important week awaits a Maverick team now very much in the thick of the playoff race in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. 3 conference games, all against fellow contenders, will be a good test of just where this team stacks up against the rest of the conference.

Wednesday: at Houston (7:00):

After 3 days off the Mavs will finally get back to action as they face their in-state rivals for the first time this season. The Mavs and Rockets both currently sit with .500 records, part of a 4-way-tie for 8th place in the West. The Rockets of course got off to a slow start, beginning the season 1-5. They had begun to turn things around, winning 5 straight after the de facto release of Carmelo Anthony, before losing games in Detroit and Cleveland this past weekend. The Mavs should have Dennis Smith Jr. back for this one after he missed Saturday's game due to a wrist injury. Dwight Powell could also return after missing the last 3 games with knee soreness. The Mavs have lost 8 in a row to the Rockets and haven't won in Houston since Nov. 14, 2015.

Friday: at LA Lakers (9:30)
The Mavs will look to avenge the one point loss they suffered against the Lakers on Halloween night. The Lakers are winners of 7 of the last 9 with the only losses both coming against Orlando. The Mavericks have only beatean a LeBron James led team once since the 2011 Finals, dropping 12 out of 13 meetings. The Mavs have also lost 4 out of the last 5 meeting against the Lakers, after winning the previous 14 contests between the teams. The Lakers now feature a pair of former Mavs in the middle. JaVale McGee is averaging career high 13.2 PPG while Mavs icon Tyson Chandler has made an immediate impact since signing with LA on November 6th.

Sunday: vs. LA Clippers (6:00)
The Mavericks will get their first look of the season at the surprising Clippers (13-6), who lead the Western Conference by percentage points over the Warriors. Of course this will also be DeAndre Jordan's first game facing the team he spent the first 10 years of his career playing for. Jordan is the Clippers franchise leader in games played, rebounds and blocks and is 8th all-time in scoring. Tobias Harris is having a career year for the Clippers, leading the team in both scoring (21.5 PPG) and rebounding (8.7 RPG). Meanwhile Montrezl Harrell has emerged as a Most Improved Player and 6th Man of the Year candidate, putting up 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 64.1% shooting from the field.