Dirk Nowitzki won’t have heavy Mavericks training camp workload

The Dallas Mavericks will have their annual Media Day on Monday and will open training camp with two-a-day practices Tuesday.

A practice Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at American Airlines Center will be free to the public. The Mavericks will also hold two practices Thursday and one Friday before traveling to Bossier City, La., to open preseason play on Oct. 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Here are five things to look for going into training camp:

How much work does Dirk Nowitzki need in camp?

Because he’s 38 years old and might have to carry the offensive load like he has so many times before, Nowitzki might be relegated to light duty during training camp. The 13-time All-Star’s minutes in preseason games will also likely be drastically low, even to the point of skipping a game or two. No use overworking Nowitzki in some meaningless games.

How will newcomer Harrison Barnes be used?

The Mavericks signed Barnes to a four-year, $94 million free-agent contract this summer. And it wasn’t to become the team’s No. 4 offensive option like he was with the Golden State Warriors. With that financial investment, Barnes will be given every chance to expand his game exponentially as they hope he can eventually become their go-to guy.

Will the Mavericks play better defense?

The off-season additions of center Andrew Bogut and small forward Harrison Barnes are expected to make the Mavericks a much more productive defensive team than they’ve been in recent years. Combined with the excellent defense shooting guard Wesley Matthews normally provides, the Mavericks could be involved in a lot of low-scoring games this season while making their mark on defense.

Will rookie A.J. Hammons raise his play?

The Mavericks like the skills of rookie A.J. Hammons. However, the rap on the 7-foot center from Purdue is that he has a low motor, and that the low motor makes it appear as though Hammons isn’t working hard. Thus, it’s imperative that Hammons find a way to use training camp as a way to find a higher gear so he won’t fall deeply behind big men Andrew Bogut and Salah Mejri.

Can Justin Anderson and Dwight Powell maintain their surge?

A strong case can be made that the Mavericks wouldn’t have made the playoffs last year if not for a late-season surge by then-rookie Justin Anderson. The Mavericks were 7-2 with Anderson in the starting lineup in the regular season’s last nine games. And the Mavericks think so highly of Powell that they rewarded him with a four-year, $37 million free-agent contract in July.

This story was originally published September 24, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Dirk Nowitzki won’t have heavy Mavericks training camp workload."