Nowitzki believes Mavericks could be a dangerous team

Training camp has come and gone.

So, too, have the first two games of the regular season for the Dallas Mavericks.

But after opening training camp more than a month ago, the Mavericks still haven’t played a practice together — let along a game — with their entire projected starting lineup. However, once that happens, forward Dirk Nowitzki has a stern message for the naysayers who have already totally written off the Mavericks.

“I think once we’re all healthy we could be a dangerous team,” Nowitzki said. “I think we’ve got a bunch of veterans who’ve been around 10-plus years and want to play off each other, and want to win and want to compete.

“And honestly, to only having been together for a short period of time, I love the chemistry of the team. We’re playing well off each other and it can only get better from here.”

The Mavericks (1-1) hope things get better at 8:30 p.m. Sunday when they play the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. They fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 104-88 there on Thursday.

However, Nowitzki was the only starter who played in that game, which the Mavericks trailed by as many as 28 points midway through the fourth quarter.

Guards Deron Williams (sprained left knee) and Wesley Matthews (rest) sat out against the Clippers, as did small forward Chandler Parsons (knee surgery), who hasn’t played since last season.

Owner Mark Cuban said center JaVale McGee (leg) might be ready to play in his first game next month, but he doesn’t have a timetable.

After playing 26 minutes Wednesday in Phoenix, Matthews was sidelined for the Clippers’ game as a precaution, but he will play against the Lakers. There’s also a chance Parsons will see his first action, depending on how he responds in Saturday’s practice and in Sunday morning’s shootaround.

Williams, though, said he has no idea if he’ll be healthy enough to play against the Lakers.

“We don’t think it’s serious,” coach Rick Carlisle said of Williams. “That’s all I’m authorized to say by my boss, Casey Smith, who is the [head athletic] trainer.

“The hope is that we can get him going here, but I don’t have a timetable.”

Carlisle believes, when healthy, the Mavericks could be a surprise team in the Western Conference.

“I like our chemistry, I really like the vibe that the team has,” Carlisle said. “They really like each other as a group, they help each other.

“I think we know who we are, and it’s early to really understand that. But we know we’re a team that’s dependent on one another, we have knowledgeable skill veteran guys that know how to play the game, and I think we understand that collectively is the only way that we’re going to get it done.”

But when will the Mavericks have all hands on deck?

“I’m looking forward to getting this group together,” Nowitzki said. “We still would love to see what McGee can bring.

“We need some athleticism on the bigs. I think the way he can cover ground with his length and his shot-blocking, we definitely need some of that.”

Saunders funeral

Carlisle will skip his team’s practice Saturday in Southern California so he can fly to Minnesota to attend the funeral of Flip Saunders.

The coach and president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Saunders died last weekend at the age of 60 due to cancer.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Nowitzki believes Mavericks could be a dangerous team."