Dallas Mavericks: Takeaways From Game 1 Of The Preseason

The Dallas Mavericks opened up preseason play against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. With Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki, JaVale McGee, Dwight Powell and Salah Mejri all sitting out, it was up to the bench and the younger players to take over and shine.

Justin Anderson got some chances early on since he started and almost connected for an electrifying dunk. Though he shot 0-for-4 from the field and only finished with one point, he got key playing time with some players like John Jenkins, Charlie Villanueva and Raymond Felton, who will be part of the second unit once the season starts.

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As for the rest of the young players, Maurice Ndour got the most playing time. He earned a contract from the Mavs after a solid showing in the Summer League with the Knicks and his play against the Nuggets was nice. Six of his eight points came from beyond the arc and his three-point shots looked smooth.

Brandon Ashley, Jarrid Famous and Jamil Wilson all entered together in the fourth quarter and combined for four points. That will be the most likely spot for them throughout the next couple of weeks as the Mavs will be deciding if they should keep them or not.

A few newcomers did get a chance to show off their skills for the home fans. Zaza Pachulia, one of the Mavs newest centers, got the chance to start. He had four points and eight rebounds and added in some physical play, like taking hard fouls, that was really impressive.

John Jenkins was one of the best players on the court for the Mavs as he went for 16 points and really looked like a solid option for the Mavs to bring off the bench during the season.

Returning players Charlie Villanueva and Devin Harris added 18 points and 14 points, respectively, and were the team leaders whenever they were on the court. Jeremy Evans, the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion and newly signed Mav, put in two points and four rebounds off the bench but he stole the show with a nice dunk and two explosive blocks.

The Mavs ultimately fell to the Nuggets 96-86 but most players that entered the game looked good. Next week, they should get a few players back who were previously injured and we should start to get a look at some of the bigger acquisitions like Deron Williams and JaVale McGee.

Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews are continuing their rehab and are on pace to return for the first game of the season but they may not play in any preseason games.

Dirk Nowitzki was not injured but just got a rest game and will see some playing time later on in the preseason. With his minutes going down this season, he will get just enough time to get ready.

The Mavs played plenty of fast-paced basketball and did a decent job crashing the boards but turnovers were a problem, which is expected for the preseason. Rick Carlisle mentioned that those things were going to be the major points of interest for the team this season as they try to change a few things that they’ve struggled with in the past.

The first preseason game of the year always features plenty of opportunities to learn how to fix problems and that was the case in Tuesday’s game. Some of the veteran players on the team had the chance to teach the younger guys how to improve certain aspects of their game.

The biggest thing to takeaway from this game was that the Mavs hung in there without most of their starting lineup and got production from a few unexpected players. There will be a few more games with the full roster and then the team will begin to shed players in an attempt to get down to a 15-man roster.

Next: Record, Statistical Predictions For Mavs in '15-'16

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