Mavericks to Open Season Against Spurs

It looks like the Dallas Mavericks will get an early shot at redemption next season. With the 2014-2015 NBA schedule coming out today, it was revealed that the Mavericks will begin the season at the AT&T Center to play the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of the seven-game first round series. Man, watching those Spurs get their rings and raise their banner will be painful.

I think it’s safe to say that the Dallas Mavericks gave the Spurs the most trouble in the playoffs, despite the Game 7 blowout. The Mavs were the only team to even take San Antonio all the way to seven games, and the lone star state rivalry that looked to be fading away burst back onto the scene.

This will be a quick test for the new-look Mavericks to open the season. For the third straight year, Dallas has made a huge change in the offseason, and this time, it seems like the Mavs got much better. With the addition of Tyson Chandler Parsons and role players such as Jameer Nelson and Al-Farouq Aminu, the Mavericks seem to be right in the mix of the crazy Western Conference with some believing they could be as high as the #3 seed.

While it might be a successful offseason on paper, the offseason’s success will really be measured when the season starts, and having the Spurs to start it off is a great way to see how these Mavs can play together. Now, obviously we can’t judge how the Mavs will be based on the first game of the season. Things will likely start off a but shaky but the chemistry between this new group should grow as the season progresses.

The Spurs, on the other hand, kept the same championship team they had last season, something the Mavericks didn’t do after they won the title in 2011. We all know what the Spurs are capable of and that they’ll probably end up with either the #1 or #2 seed in the Western Conference again. While Dallas has something to prove this upcoming season, the Spurs have already proven to everyone how dominant they can be.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mavs lose the first game of the season to the Spurs, but win or loss, we shouldn’t overreact to the outcome of this game. While it’s always awesome to see the Mavs take on the Spurs, I’m looking forward to when Dallas plays them in March or early April, and maybe even in the playoffs again. Then again, it’s going to be fun to start the season off with a huge rivalry game between the Mavs and Spurs. Can’t wait.