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Dallas Mavericks: What To Watch For In Opener

By Cole Mentzel

Oct 21, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (far right) looks up during the national anthem prior to a game against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Phoenix won 99-87. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (far right) looks up during the national anthem prior to a game against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Phoenix won 99-87. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a tumultuous offseason, the Dallas Mavericks are set to open their season against the Phoenix Suns. They will have new players in the lineup such as Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Zaza Pachulia, John Jenkins and Jeremy Evans.

Though the Mavs will have a few players sitting out due to injury, such as JaVale McGee and possibly Chandler Parsons, they will have the majority of their team on the court and will be able to show off what they can do early.

However, with many new players coming and going during free agency, the Mavs will have a fairly new team, meaning we won’t exactly know what to expect from them.

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Here are a few things to watch for:

The chemistry between a new backcourt of Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews.

The backcourt has been the area the Mavs have struggled to control since the championship in 2011. In the years following, they have had the following backcourts:

They haven’t exactly struggled to find talent in the guard position but they have either traded players away or lost them in free agency. Though Williams is only on a one year deal, if the duo of him and Matthews works well together, the Mavs could keep them around for a while. Next summer, they will be looking for big men yet again after last summer’s failure.

Watch for Williams and Matthews, who were good in the preseason finale to show off more of their skills and flash some chemistry as one of the best backcourts in the West.

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The play from an entirely new core of centers.

Last season, the Mavs primarily used Tyson Chandler in the center position. Behind him, they used a combination of Bernard James and Greg Smith with Dwight Powell and Amar’e Stoudemire occasionally getting time. It was safe to say that whenever Chandler was out of the game, the Mavs were not great on the boards and they struggled to defend the better centers in the West.

This season, after waiving Samuel Dalembert, they will be using Pachulia, Salah Mejri and eventually McGee along with Powell at times. This group of centers isn’t as reliant on one major piece. Each player is better at different things.

For example: Pachulia is more of a gritty guy under the basket that likes to shoot mid-range shots while McGee crashes the glass and is more athletic and better at defending longer centers.

Look for this group to be a little more productive this season. Also, watch for Mejri. The big man from Tunisia impressed in the preseason but there were some flaws in his game like not being aggressive enough under the basket. He will get more minutes until McGee is healthy and matches well with Alex Len of the Suns, who is the same height.

The shooting from beyond the arc.

As I wrote in an article back in the summer, the Mavs are set to be a really good team from three-point land. They have at least two players at every position except for center that can shoot the three ball well and they should be able to light up teams that don’t have good perimeter defense.

The Suns have their fair share of shooters too, but the Mavs could arguably be one of the best in the league when it comes to three-point percentage. Look for them to stay in the game using their outside shooting, especially from newcomers like Williams, Matthews and Jenkins who are known for the long ball.

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