Nevermind that it took the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks four tries to notch their first victory of the season. After defeating the Toronto Raptors on Friday and avoiding an 0-4 start to the season, the Mavericks look to continue their run of dominance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
Dating back to 2006, the Mavericks are 18-1 against the Timberwolves including a perfect 9-0 record at the Target Center. However, this new-look Timberwolves team is trying to turn the corner this season and despite being 0-3 all of their losses have come by a combined nine points. The arrival of new coach Rick Adelman and rookie Ricky Rubio has revitalized the excitement around the team as they are hoping that better days are on the horizon.
Sunday's game will also be the first time that Minnesota's J.J. Barea will match up against his former club. After helping lead the Mavericks to the NBA Championship, Barea signed a long term deal with Timberwolves during the offseason.
This game also features a sterling match-up at the forward position between Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love. Nowitzki is averaging 22 points a game through the Mavericks first four games. Love is averaging 26 points a night in the early part of the season but has a 15.3 per game average in five meetings against the Mavericks.
For more on this game be sure to check out Mavs Moneyball and Canis Hoopus. For everything NBA Basketball be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA Basketball Hub.