Mavericks building chemistry, confidence with season just a week away

The Dallas Mavericks have one thing going for them halfway through training camp.

As opposed to last year at this time when coach Rick Carlisle was still trying to figure out rotations and the identity of the team, the Mavericks now appear to be a much more cohesive, confident group.

And with just two preseason games remaining after a 99-96 victory over Orlando on Monday night at American Airlines Center, the season opener against Atlanta is just a week away.

Carlisle said he’s imposing a sense of urgency on the team, but the environment is entirely different from where the Mavs were a year ago.

“It’ll be here before they know it,” he said. “This year’s camp is just much different, it has a different feel, we’re younger and more confident because they got to play last year, but you can’t take that for granted.”

Monday’s game was essentially a dress rehearsal for the opener, and Carlisle looked more at ease with his rotations of Dallas regulars through three quarters.

Last season was a bit more discombobulated as the Mavs struggled to find a rhythm while trying to establish build in-season playing rotations.

Nowitzki started in the frontcourt Monday along with Harrison Barnes and Wes Mathews, while Dennis Smith Jr. and Yogi Ferrell made up the backcourt.

Smith led the Mavs (3-1) with 16 points and seven assists while Barnes scored 14 and Nowitzki added 10.

Dallas opened the regular season last year with an overtime loss to Indiana before looking up at Thanksgiving with a 2-13 start.

The beginning had a lot to do with player age and game management, essentially undercutting a 31-36 finish that included a February-March stretch in which the Mavericks won eight of 12.

“We’re pretty quick now,” Matthews said. “It feels good for sure and we’ve got to build on it, but the main thing is getting back on defense and getting the defensive stops that’ll give us better looks on offense.”

Barnes, who averaged 19.2 points and 5 rebounds while averaging a career-high of nearly 36 minutes last season, scored 14 points Monday and is 16-of-29 shooting this preseason.

With Barnes emerging as a front-line scorer and the addition of point guard Smith Jr., Carlisle is upbeat about being able to use Nowitzki more in his regular role this season as the forward enters his 20th season in a Dallas uniform.

“Right now you’ve got to come in every day looking to get better and going hard, otherwise you can fall off the table quick,” he said. “The dilemma with trying to give a number of minutes for Dirk is that it sounds great to bring his time down to the mid-20s, but then that means he sits for long periods of time during the game.

“Getting back going again is going to be very challenging and with the new game-flow packages this season, timeouts are going to be coming at different times and so that brings another challenge in substituting him.”

The opening schedule won’t be easy for the Mavericks as they take on playoff teams in six of their first eight games.

“That’s another tough start to our season, two tough ones at home and then the Rockets and Warriors, those are no bargains,” Carlisle said.

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Mavericks building chemistry, confidence with season just a week away."