Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports The Dallas Mavericks are set for the playoffs and can use Friday night as prep work. The Dallas Mavericks (50-30) play their final regular season game of the season, playing host to the Detroit Pistons (13-66), Friday night at the American Airlines Center. After completing a short east coast road trip with wins against the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, the Mavericks can play Friday with assurance that they are locked into a playoff spot against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons are two games “ahead” of the Washington Wizards for last place in the league. The game tips at 7:30 PM CT and can be watched locally on WFAA. When these teams last met in early March the Mavericks throttled the Pistons 142-124 in Detroit. Luka Doncic finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, as part of a string of 30-point triple doubles. Since then, the Pistons have gone 3-14 and ride a seven-game losing streak into the clash. In the same time the Mavericks are 14-2 and carry a five-game win streak. Here’s what we’ll keep an eye on tonight. Healthy rhythm Knowing that the Mavericks are secure in their postseason fate they should be able to play free and comfortable at the AAC for the final time this regular season. It would be nice for the Mavericks to put the game away early, allowing starters and stars alike to get a rhythm but not push too hard. The battle here is that often when that happens the Mavericks find themselves in a battle. When they played Detroit in March they were up just 69-65 at half. It took a second half dominant performance to create the distance. If you’ll recall Pistons bench reserve Santino Fontecchio found God against Dallas early in the game, and finished the night with 27 points on 4-of-5 from three. Limit an outburst like that and they should be fine. Riding the momentum into the postseason means maintaining rhythm, but staying healthy. Speaking of health... Josh Green Rebound Mavericks wing Josh Green returned to action Wednesday night after being absent for nearly a month due to injury. He played just 14 minutes, posting three points, four rebounds, and two assists in the win against the Miami Heat. This has been a challenging season for Green, who showed growth last season in a down year for the team. Appearing in just 55 games in this campaign, battling various injuries, he has little time to rediscover his role before the playoffs. The Mavericks have strong depth this season in being able to play several wings with defensive upside, which puts less pressure on Green to show up. But it sure would be nice to have one more in the arsenal in the upcoming battle against the Clippers. Perhaps Jason Kidd can find extra run for Green in Friday’s matchup. Keeping flow while defending The Mavericks turning themselves into a defensive team post trade deadline has been such a spirited storyline of this season. It’s been some time to see a Mavericks using multiple avenues to victory that doesn’t just involve shooting the other team out of the gym. Some of that production has come at the cost of others — like a consistent three ball. But over the last nine games that’s started returning. After going a ghastly 12-of-42 in a win over the Utah Jazz last month the Mavericks are averaging 17-of-42 from three per night, good for over 40-percent from three. The Pistons are giving up 37-percent from three on the season. As they rank 27th in offense and 25th in defense on the season, there shouldn’t be much resistance from Detroit unless Dallas decides to punt on the game altogether. This should serve as a way to finetune before everything gets serious. How to watch Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM CT and can be watched on WFAA. Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/4/11 ... me-channel