Answering 3 burning questions about the 2023-24 Mavericks schedule

On Thursday, August 17, the official 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks schedule was released.

The Mavericks are fresh off a disastrous 38-44 season where they missed out on the playoffs. The All-Star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving could not even carry their team into a Play-In spot.

Answering 3 burning questions about the 2023-24 Mavericks schedule

The Mavs now have a lot to look forward to as their roadmap back to the playoffs was laid out in front of them on August 17. With the schedule now released, which also incorporates the new NBA In-Season Tournament, the Mavericks have four group play games to look forward to in November. The schedule also includes a Christmas day showdown against a heated rival - the Phoenix Suns.

Dallas, however, has seemingly retooled a roster that was otherwise left to scraps. The highlight addition of soon-to-be fan favorite Grant Williams and the acquisition of young talent in Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper has sparked a sense of excitement amongst Mavericks fans.

Not to mention the signing of Derick Jones Jr, which will bolster a defense that ranked among the league's worst in terms of defensive rating. Jones Jr will also bring an athletic ability that has never been seen on a Mavericks roster before. In addition, newly acquired guards Dante Exum and Seth Curry will have a lot to prove this coming season with the Mavericks.

The reinvigorated Mavericks are now poised to step into a 2023-24 season with a sense of revenge from last year's disappointing season. Looking at the schedule, let's answer three important questions about the Mavericks' season.

Can the Mavericks get off to an electric start?

Historically, the Dallas Mavericks have struggled to begin the season. Through the first 20 games of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Mavs found themselves with yet another underwhelming start to the year.

It probably doesn't help that the Mavericks will only have two preseason games this year, which will take place multiple weeks before the 2023-24 season even tips off. These games will be held on October 5 and 7 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi.

Glancing ahead to the first game of the season for the Mavericks, they will be on the road playing a familiar rival the San Antonio Spurs, where rookie Victor Wembenyama will be making his long-awaited NBA debut on ESPN. The team will then travel back to Dallas to play Kyrie Irving's former team, the Brooklyn Nets. It will be paramount that the Mavs get off to an early hot start.

Looking further, the Mavericks will be playing the NBA champion Denver Nuggets, which will be an early test for the team.

They will round out the first 10 games against weaker Eastern Conference foes - the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Toronto Raptors. The team will then head on the road to play the division rival New Orleans Pelicans for a three-day away trip.

If the Mavericks are poised to shift the tide of their historic lackluster starts, then it will be crucial for the team to hop on an early trend of winning. This would be the perfect schedule to jump-start your season early due to the number of shaky teams they will be playing through the first two months of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.

What are the hardest months of the Mavericks schedule?

Entering the month of December, the Mavs will be dealt a tough hand, as they will have three of the season's eight back-to-back matchups, which will include a mid-December back-to-back battle against the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs will then conclude the month of December playing just one Eastern conference opponent, which will be held on December 27, against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition, the Mavericks will be tasked with facing seven of the eight Western Conference playoff teams in last year's 2022-23 NBA season.

Entering the month of January, the Mavericks will be very thrilled to see they have a seven-game home stand that will include two games against a shaky Portland Trail Blazers squad that could be feeling the effects of a potential Damian Lillard trade. The Mavs will conclude their seven-game home stretch with a matinee matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Martin Luther King Day.

After their seven-game home stand, the Mavericks will be tasked with a brutal six-fame stretch where they will be battling it out with top teams in the Eastern Conference, This will include a game vs the Boston Celtics which will hold sentimental value for both Dallas and Boston fans.

The above-mentioned matchup will be Grant Williams's first game against his former team. Secondly, Kristaps Porzingis could potentially play the Dallas Mavericks for the first since he was traded away at the 2021-22 NBA season trade deadline.

December and January will be a daunting two months for a Mavericks team that must get off to a swift start to the 2023-24 NBA season. If the Mavs are to have any success throughout this upcoming season, they will need to finish with the above .500 record by the end of January.

How will the Dallas Mavericks fare in the post-all-star break playoff push?

To predict where precisely the Dallas Mavericks would be sitting at the 2024 All-Star break would be an impossible task. You simply can't predict what will happen in an NBA season.

There are just too many outcomes that could take place, whether it's injuries, trades, or everything in between.

Similarly, in the 2021-22 NBA season, the Mavericks were all but written off as, at one point, they had an abysmal record of 16 wins and 18 losses. Miraculously, the Mavericks would turn their season around and create history, as they would end with a 52-30 record.

They rode their momentum all the way to a Western Conference Finals appearance against the soon-to-be 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors. These examples prove that you can't predict what will happen in an NBA season.

However, if the Mavericks can get through the first 57 games with an above .500 record, then we should fully expect them to make a playoff push during the last 25 games of the regular season.

The Mavericks better get used to bright lights, as they will have 11 nationally televised games during the last three months of the NBA regular season. The Mavs will also woefully be on the road for 15 of the remaining 25 games during this stretch. And to make it even more challenging, they will have two four-game away stands during the months of February and March.

We are still over a month away from the Mavericks reaching training camp but if Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving successfully set this team up for success, then we can expect to see the Mavericks get back into the postseason.