The local sides mostly took care of business since last week. The Cowboys did, in fact, slow down Antonio Gibson (his 36 rushing yards were his third-fewest of the season), while the Mavericks took a desperately needed rematch against Memphis. The Stars struggled, but they’ll have a shot to get back on the horse this week in an emotional Tuesday night. Speaking of rebounds, Dak Prescott could certainly use one himself.
Here’s what I’m watching this week.
Tuesday, 12/14: Stars versus Blues—7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Southwest
The divisional stakes are such that this would be the pick on a normal week, but it takes on added importance in the wake of Ben Bishop’s retirement announcement. Stars GM Jim Nill told the Morning News Saturday that the 35-year-old’s career is over after 14 months of attempting to return from a degenerative knee injury. Bishop will address the media tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night is the first home game since the news, and it comes against his hometown team, against whom Bishop played the finest game of his Stars career. Emotions figure to be running high. I’ll have more on Bishop tomorrow.
Wednesday, 12/15: Mavericks versus Lakers—6:30 p.m., ESPN
Want to feel better about the Mavericks’ recent struggles? Take a gander at the Lakers, who sit only ahead of 13-13 Dallas after a very high-profile and currently disastrous trade to slot Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Come for the star power—LeBron remains a must-watch even while approaching his 37th birthday—and stay for a battle of two teams trying to dig their way out of mediocrity.
Sunday, 12/19: Dak Prescott versus the New York Giants defense—12:00 p.m., FOX
I could probably copy-paste this for each of the next four games because this last month of the season is all about Prescott and whether he can get back to his pre-bye week form. If he does and the team’s defensive gains stick, the Cowboys are in the upper echelon of teams that can win the Super Bowl. If he doesn’t, they probably don’t get very far in the postseason. Our Jake Kemp will have more on his struggles later this week.
