The two Welsh regions meet at Parc y Scarlets this weekend with Pivac’s side looking to end a run of five straight defeats.
But their opposition will be no easy task given their improved fortunes under interim head coach Ceri Jones and a narrow win over the Ospreys last weekend.
“The Dragons should probably have beaten Cardiff Blues as well where they were down to 14 men for long periods. It’s funny what a couple of weeks can do in sport,” Pivac said.
“They did a lot of things very well against the Ospreys and we know only too well how difficult it is to beat them. I don’t think we will be taking the Dragons lightly at all.”
Scarlets are in the middle of a difficult run and were brushed aside by John Mulvihill’s Blues last weekend.
It was their first home Guinness PRO14 defeat since November 2016.
Pivac will be without the injured Leigh Halfpenny, James Davies, Rhys Patchell, Jake Ball and Will Boyde against the Dragons, but will return Dan Jones to the fly-half jersey.
Jones will replace Hadleigh Parkes who is in line to return to centre.
The game in West Wales is sure to be an entertaining one on Saturday evening with vital PRO14 points at stake.
“We have a healthy respect for the Dragons. If you look at how both sides have gone over the last few weeks, you’d say they were the favourites,” Pivac said.
“They’ve got some quality in their side including a lot of good young players. We’ve still got some talent to burn and we’d like to think it will be a very good game.”
