At Least Two Mavs Playoff Games Will Be Blacked Out Locally, Because of Course

If you’re reading this, odds are you probably aren’t able to watch most Mavericks games—or Stars games, or Rangers games—in your home. That’s because Bally Sports Southwest, the teams’ broadcast rights holder, has been dropped by myriad cable providers and all but one streaming service (DirecTV Stream) over the past two-plus years, leaving plenty of fans—including you, probably—to scrounge for various semi- or not-at-all legal ways to watch whichever games don’t get broadcast nationally. It’s the worst, and it shows little sign of abating.

The playoffs were supposed to be a reprieve, a time when everyone can watch their local team no matter which cable company or streaming service overcharges them. Alas, that will not be the case with the Mavericks in their first-round series against Utah:

For those who have asked, and there have been many: The Mavs have been told that the series’ NBA TV broadcasts, which so far are Games 2 and 3, will be blacked out in DFW. All games still will be on @BallySportsSW.

React however you might.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 13, 2022

The good news is Games 1 (ESPN) and 4 (TNT) will be airing on networks that are both widely distributed and not blacked out (Games 5 through 7 will be determined as necessary). For everyone else, it’s Bally Sports Southwest or, in all likelihood, bust. (Or, find a bar.)