Bucks @ Mavericks preseason preview: 3 things to watch for

The Dallas Mavericks return home looking to avoid a winless preseason on Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks . Following Monday's 110-96 loss against the Clippers , the Mavericks are 0-3 in the exhibition schedule, with 5-point losses to Memphis and Utah also on the ledger.

On the injury front, PJ Washington made his preseason debut on Monday after missing the first two games with hip soreness. Luka Doncic missed his third consecutive game with the calf contusion he's been dealing with for a couple weeks now, and he's " not likely to participate " in Thursday's final preseason tilt, per Jason Kidd. Kyrie Irving missed Monday's game due to rest, but all indications are that he will play against Milwaukee.

Everyone else who's played so far should be good to go again for Thursday night's dress rehearsal, which means we'll have plenty to watch. Here's a sampling of what we'll be keeping an eye on.

Will the real Klay Thompson please stand up? Klay Thompson , one of the best shooters that this league has ever seen, is currently 3 for his last 28 from the field. That's a crispy 10.7%. For all of the questions and concerns that some have had with the addition of Thompson, Klay's ability to shoot was not one of those. You do not get the "Splash Bro" nickname without being splashy. I am certainly unbothered by this "basketball", considering the preseason is not actually basketball. But as we're just a week away from games that do count, could we knock a few down in this one, Klay?

Rotating the rotations Without Luka, I'm intrigued to see some of the lineup combinations that Jason Kidd can deploy over the course of the season. These minutes can be valuable to determine who is on the floor with Kyrie when Luka is on the bench during his normal regular season rotation. I want to see some different combinations just to see what works.

One lineup I'm particularly interested in would be a lineup of Irving, Grimes , Marshall , Thompson and Lively . There are numerous interchangeable parts with those 5 and Washington, Gafford , Hardy or Dinwiddie and even Exum and Kleber when healthy. It's fun to have a group of 11 guys who you can mix and match with when your best player is on the bench.

Rounding out the roster Technically, the Mavericks do not have any roster spots available for more players. However, we've seen the Mavs cut guaranteed salary in order to make room for someone else. Just last year, Mike Miles was on a two-way contract coming into camp but was released before the season. With the continued strong play of Jaz Gortman , could we see a situation like that again? The end of the bench guys might only get a quarter of work in this one, so it could be a fun 4th quarter watching the guys battle for spots.

How to watch Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Center, with the game broadcasted on TNT with no blackout restrictions. If you prefer the local flavor, the Mavericks local broadcast will also be available on Mavs.com.