Click here to Watch Dallas Mavericks v New Jersey Nets Live

                         

Without any doubts, things could not have been any worse for the New Jersey Nets in the first month of this year’s NBA campaign. Being at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are hoping to secure their first win when Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks will be in town on Thursday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

Even though many criticized the Dallas Mavericks for their lack of youth, things have worked out for the franchise from Texas thus far. Posting a 12-4 record to start the season, the Mavs did an exceptional job of staying in the upper echelon of the Western Conference despite competing with a shorthanded squad. More specifically, Dallas is still without the injured All-Star forward Josh Howard and starting center Erick Dampier. Likewise, Tim Thomas, Quinton Ross and Shawn Marion missed numerous games, leaving Rick Carlisle’s with a completely different rotation than anticipated. Yet, the Mavs’ roster turned out to be very deep as their second unit had no trouble giving opposing teams a run for their money. Positive surprises have been Drew Gooden, Kris Humphries and rookie Rodrigue Beaubois who excited fans around the league with his athleticism and thunderous slam-dunks. Coming off two straight blowout wins versus the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets on the road, the Mavericks look like they could turn into a potential contender when everyone is healthy. Once again candidate for the sixth man of the year award is Jason Terry who gave the Mavs a huge lift off the bench as he put up 18.1 points, 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

The New Jersey Nets on the other hand got off to their worst start in franchise history, losing 15 straight to start the season. Thus, the Nets are still waiting for their first win in 2009-10 after more than a month of play. Albeit barely anyone expected New Jersey to perform particularly well after shipping All-Star guard Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic, it is still surprising how poorly the Nets shot the ball so far. In fact, Lawrence Frank’s squad only averages 85 points per contest, far too little to win NBA games. That said, it should be mentioned      that All-Star guard Devin Harris missed 10 games due to a groin injury, leaving his team with even less scoring. Taking everything into account, there seems to be no doubt that the Dallas Mavericks will enter their encounter with the Nets as everyone’s favorites to secure a win at Izod Center on Thursday. Ultimately, it is hard to imagine that New Jersey will have any answer for the Mavs’ high scoring offense. Likewise, the Nets’ second unit will have a very tough time versus Dallas’ deep bench.

You can watch all games of the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.