Dallas Mavericks release preseason schedule

With Nerlens Noel officially in the fold for at least another year, the Dallas Mavericks can begin focusing on basketball games.

The team announced its 2017 NBA preseason schedule Tuesday. The preseason begins Oct. 2 with a home game against Milwaukee followed by a second home game on Oct. 3 against Chicago.

The Mavericks will play Orlando in consecutive games. They play at Orlando on Oct. 5 and host Orlando on Oct. 9.

The final two games are at Atlanta on Oct. 12 and at Charlotte Oct. 13. The game against the Hawks will be played at McCamish Pavilion on the campus of Georgia Tech.

Noel, considered the centerpiece of the team going forward, signed a reported one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Mavericks missed the playoffs last season, but have revamped their roster with some athletic, mostly young talent. Among them is rookie first-round pick Dennis Smith Jr., who dazzled fans during Summer League play. Smith was the ninth overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Of course, Dallas also has forward Dirk Nowtizki, who’ll be starting his 20th season.

Four of the six preseason games will be locally televised. FOX Sports Southwest will broadcast the home game against Orlando (Oct. 9) while FOX Sports Southwest PLUS will televise the Milwaukee (Oct. 2), Chicago (Oct. 4) and Atlanta (Oct. 12) contests. All of the preseason games can be heard on ESPN 103.3 FM and in Spanish on Univision Deportes (1270 AM).

Following preseason play, Dallas tips off the 2017-18 regular season with its home opener on Wednesday, Oct. 18 against the Hawks.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased through mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Dallas Mavericks release preseason schedule."