Dallas Mavericks: Previewing the Mavs vs. Beijing Ducks

The Dallas Mavericks will kick off their preseason tonight against the Beijing Ducks. This game is part of an ongoing effort by the NBA to spread the league’s effects worldwide.

The preseason is finally here which means that the actual NBA season is so close we can almost taste it. The Dallas Mavericks get to kick off the preseason in unique fashion with a game against the Chinese league team, the Beijing Ducks. This game will not feature the BYU star, Jimmer Fredette, but it will have another former NBA player.

Stephon Marbury has been playing in the Chinese league for a long time and currently sits on the Ducks roster. At age 39, I am not sure if Marbury will be playing tonight, but it is interesting to see a former NBA star playing overseas for as long as Marbury has.

On the Mavs side of things, there will be some star power not suiting up tonight. After a week’s worth of practices, the Mavs will be without a handful of players in tonight’s preseason matchup. DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. are all active, however.

Dirk Nowitzki is reportedly out with an ankle injury. He has been unable to practice up to this point, but the team is not worried about his availability for the regular season just yet.

Harrison Barnes is out with a hamstring injury. Barnes’ injury looks to be more severe than pretty much everyone else as it has already been rumored that he could be out for the full preseason and possibly into the regular season.

J.J. Barea is out with a hamstring injury as well but is listed as day-to-day. His injury looks less significant at this time, but coach Carlisle will be keeping a close eye on him as he aims to play an important role in this team with his leadership and locker room presence.

Dwight Powell has some knee soreness and will miss tonight’s game because of it. The injury does not appear to be significant.

Perhaps the most disappointing of all the injuries is the knee injury to Ding Yanyuhang. Ding is one of only a handful of NBA players that have come over from China in league history. After Barnes’ injury, people were expecting to see a lot of Ding in action fighting for a roster spot, but it doesn’t look like that will start tonight.

The Mavs and Ducks tip-off at 7:30 pm central time at the American Airlines Center. Follow us on Twitter @TheSmokingCuban for live updates and a recap after the game. Let’s go Mavs!