The Dallas Mavericks are walking into this one with a 10-17 record and a “we’re still trying to survive December” vibe, while the Detroit Pistons are straight-up rolling at 21-5 and sitting on top of the East.
This matchup matters more than it sounds because the Pistons aren’t just winning, they’re stacking wins with real momentum, including a 112-105 road win over the Celtics that made it four straight.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks have been playing better lately, but the injury situation keeps stepping on their throat at the worst possible time.
Injury Report
Mavericks
Kyrie Irving: Out (left knee surgery)
Dereck Lively II: Out (right foot injury management)
Dante Exum: Out (right knee surgery)
Anthony Davis: Questionable (left calf contusion)
D’Angelo Russell: Questionable (illness)
Pistons
Isaac Jones: Out (G League, on assignment)
Bobi Klintman: Out (G League, on assignment)
Chaz Lanier: Out (G League, on assignment)
Wendell Moore Jr.: Out (G League, two-way)
Tolu Smith: Out (G League, two-way)
Why The Mavericks Have The Advantage
It starts with the ceiling. If Anthony Davis plays, the Mavericks instantly look like a different team because he’s still a problem to deal with on both ends. He’s at 20.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists this season on 51.7% from the field, and that’s with the usual chaos around him.
The other big swing is Cooper Flagg, because he’s already at the “this kid can steal a game” stage. He just dropped 42 in an overtime game, and that wasn’t some empty shooting night either. It was real volume, real pressure, and he handled it. Even in the season, he’s giving them 18.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, which is nuts for an 18-year-old carrying stretches of offense.
Stylistically, the Mavericks can make this ugly in a good way if they slow the Pistons down and turn it into a half-court game where Flagg and Davis can hunt matchups. The Pistons are awesome, but a lot of their cleanest stuff comes when Cade is dictating tempo and the defense is already rotating. If the Mavericks can take away easy transition and force longer possessions, that’s where the upset path lives.
Also, the Pistons’ injury report is basically clean for the real rotation guys. That’s good for them, but it also means there’s no “surprise minutes restriction” excuse if the Mavericks punch first.
Why The Pistons Have The Advantage
This is the simple part. The Pistons are better, healthier where it matters, and way more stable right now.
Cade Cunningham is playing like an All-NBA guard. He’s at 27.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 9.2 assists, and he’s doing it while actually controlling games instead of just stacking numbers. The Celtics game was a perfect example: 32 points, 10 assists, and the Pistons still held up when the game got tight late.
The second edge is that the Pistons have a real identity night-to-night. They’re scoring 119.3 points per game, and they don’t need a perfect shooting night to get there because they can win with pace, physicality, and repeated rim pressure. That becomes even scarier when you look at the Mavericks’ availability list, because if Davis is limited or out, the Mavs are basically asking Flagg to do superhero stuff again.
And then there’s the “big man problem” for the Mavericks. Jalen Duren is at 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds a game, and he’s exactly the type of center who can punish a shorthanded frontcourt with second chances and rim runs. With Lively out and Davis compromised, the Pistons can turn the paint into a treadmill.
Finally, the guard situation. With Kyrie Irving out and D’Angelo Russell questionable, the Mavericks are staring at long stretches where their ball-handling is shaky, and that’s how the Pistons bury teams. One sloppy quarter and it turns into a 12-2 run before you even blink.
Mavericks vs. Pistons Prediction
This feels like one of those games where the Mavericks can absolutely hang around, especially if Davis plays and Flagg starts hot. The Pistons aren’t unbeatable, they’re just consistent, and consistency usually wins these December games when the other side is patching lineups together.
But I’m leaning Pistons because the health gap is real and their offense travels. Cade is playing with too much control right now, and the Pistons’ ability to stack good possessions over and over is exactly what breaks a team that’s missing creators.
Prediction: Pistons 118, Mavericks 104
