Tonight marks the start of the new 2014-2015 Dallas Mavericks season. The rebuilt Mavs visit the defending champion San Antonio Spurs for a 7:00 CST tip.
The Dallas Mavericks’ highly anticipated first game of what many expect to be a promising season has them facing their arch rival who knocked them out of the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs essentially have the exact same team heading into the season while the Mavericks look quite different, yet much improved. The Mavericks provided San Antonio its toughest test in a 7-game first round series before the Spurs cruised their way to a fifth franchise title.
“We’re expecting to win,” Parsons said. “We know they’re a great team and the most respected team in the league, and they’re at where we want to be. They’re champions and we have respect for them, but we want to go in there and compete and play as hard as we can.”
Mavs Depth Chart:
PG: Jameer Nelson/Raymond Felton(OUT-Ankle)/Gal Mekel
SG: Monta Ellis/Devin Harris/Ricky Ledo
SF: Chandler Parsons/Richard Jefferson/Jae Crowder
PF: Dirk Nowitzki/ Al-Farouq Aminu/Charlie Villanueva
C: Tyson Chandler/Brandan Wright/Greg Smith
The Spurs and NBA.com announced Finals breakout star Kawhi Leonard will be out in the opener with a right eye injury. Center Tiago Splitter is not active with a strained right calf and Patty Mills will not suit up after surgery on his right shoulder. Chandler Parsons was the only question for the Mavs in the opener having bruised his knee in the preseason game against the Magic but is now 100 percent.
Joining Tony Parker, Danny Green and Tim Duncan in the starting lineup tonight will be Marco Belinelli and Matt Bonner.
Before the injury report Kawhi Leonard and Chandler Parsons would have been the key matchup of the game with our new free agent taking on the reigning NBA Finals MVP. However, with the news of the injured eye from Leonard the matchup goes to the classic Dirk Nowitzki versus Tim Duncan battle. Without Tiago Splitter it will be up to Tim Duncan to carry a lot of the load at Center. Letting Dirk play some center and take Duncan out of the paint could really open up the paint for the high powered Mavericks offense. We also expect to see the defensive impact Tyson Chandler will once again have covering Duncan throughout the evening.
Player Focus:
Mavs – Tyson Chandler is the player focus I will be looking at for the Mavs debut. With Tiago Splitter out, San Antonio will depend on Boris Diaw or Tim Duncan to play most minutes at center. Looking up their top three big men available either Aron Bynes or Matt Bonner will see increased minutes. Tyson Chandler should have his way in the paint for the Mavs offensive working the pick-and-roll and defensively forcing difficult shot attempts around the rim.
Spurs – Manu Ginobili. Without Leonard, Danny Green will be playing a lot of small forward with Manu having to play increased minutes at the shooting guard position. Ginobili averaged 17.7 points in seven games against the Mavs in the playoffs so containing him could be the key to victory.
The Spurs went 1-4 against NBA teams during the preseason but the preseason has never been a big concern for Popovich and the Spurs. Something to look for is whether they get off to a sluggish start, a championship hangover perhaps, to start the season especially with some key injuries. The Mavs went 4-4 in preseason showing some surprising early chemistry with so many new pieces and an explosive offense.
The Mavs will look to spoil Becky Hammons first game as the first female assistant coach in the NBA.
Watch tonight’s NBA tipoff on TNT!
Quote Credit – Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed
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