The Dallas Mavericks 2022-23 regular season starts with a road game on Wednesday in a highly-anticipated rematch against the Phoenix Suns.
After Luka Doncic torched the Suns, leading the Mavericks back from a 3-2 deficit in the Western Conference Semifinals to win in seven games, a budding rivalry with the Phoenix team has ensued.
Dallas’ first home game will be against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
Last season, Dallas fell in the Western Conference finals to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in the most successful season for the Mavericks since its 2011 championship-winning campaign.
The Mavericks are hoping to match or even improve upon last year’s results, and with Doncic, they have a good chance. For the third consecutive year, Doncic is the preseason betting favorite to win the NBA’s MVP award.
Nonetheless, with a new season comes new faces. Dallas had an eventful offseason that began with a significant loss as starting point guard Jalen Brunson departed for the Knicks.
New to the team is free agent signing JaVale McGee, who will hopefully fix the Dallas interior defense. The team also traded for talented big man Christian Wood and drafted guard Jaden Hardy after he fell in the draft.
Dallas added another new player this week to fill its final roster spot. On Monday, the Mavericks signed 31-year-old Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo.
The terms of the deal are unknown, but the ex-Denver Nugget is expected to receive a one-year contract.
Campazzo will likely serve as the team’s third-string point guard to start the season behind Spencer Dinwiddie and Frank Ntilikina. His ball handling and playmaking were desperately needed as the departure of Brunson left Dallas thin in those departments.
Campazzo played most of his career in Europe, including on the Real Madrid team that featured a young Doncic. He broke into the NBA two seasons ago, signing with the Nuggets.
In his two NBA seasons, the 5-10-point guard shot 37.2% from the floor and averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 assists.
In addition to new faces on the court, Mavericks fans will soon see a new statue outside the American Airlines Center (AAC) honoring the franchise’s most outstanding player.
The Mavericks announced that a statue of Dirk Nowitzki would be unveiled at 11 a.m. on Christmas Day outside of the AAC. In a press release, team officials said Nowitzki Way would be closed to traffic, where the outside general public will have the opportunity to celebrate.
Following the statue’s unveiling, the Mavericks will take on the Los Angeles Lakers at 1:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. Fans attending the game will be allowed in early to watch the statue unveiling on the AAC’s jumbotron.
Dallas fans will have plenty of opportunities to see the Mavericks on TV, as the team is scheduled to play 30 nationally televised games, including 10 on ESPN, nine on NBA TV, seven on TNT, and four on ABC.
The Mavericks opener against the Suns will be broadcast on ESPN on October 19, with tip-off scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.
