Mavericks face some colossal challenges this season

Change and colossal challenges are the operative words facing the Dallas Mavericks as they enter their 36th season.

Gone are last year’s starting backcourt of Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo. Gone — again — is Tyson Chandler, the popular center who can’t seem to play more than one season at a time for the Mavericks no matter how well he performs and protects the rim.

As the Mavericks open training camp Tuesday, Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams are slated to be the team’s new starting backcourt. And either JaVale McGee, Samuel Dalembert or Zaza Pachulia will be the starting center.

And for the naysayers who believe the Mavericks are going to be hard-pressed to even qualify for the playoffs, owner Mark Cuban has a stern message.

“I think we’re going to be better defensively, I think we’re going to be able to shoot the ball better, I think we’re going to be more flexible and better across the board,” Cuban said. “I think we’ve just got a good group of guys.

One of the challenges for the Mavericks is finding a new go-to guy. That role used to belong to Nowitzki, until Ellis assumed it the past two seasons.

Last year Nowitzki averaged 17.3 points in just 29.6 minutes a game. The only time he’s scored less and played less was during his rookie season — during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign.

Cuban, however, is convinced that the 37-year-old Nowitzki has another gear he can turn to.

“Dirk’s biggest challenge is that he thinks he’s old,” Cuban said. “Dirk takes such good care of his body and his mind that he’s got the body of someone five years younger — he’s just got to have the confidence to play like that.

“I’ve never seen anybody in any field as disciplined as Dirk and willing to work as hard in terms of what he needs, how he works out and taking advantage of the new technology we have. The guy is amazing still, and he can still shoot that rock.”

During the Mavs’ exit interview last spring, talk surfaced about the possibilities of the Mavericks bringing Nowitzki off the bench this season. Most of that hinged on the possibilities of signing Portland free agent LaMarcus Aldridge or another high quality free-agent power forward.

Aldridge went on to sign with the San Antonio Spurs, and Cuban is adamant that Nowitzki, who is entering his 18th season, will be back in his customary starting power forward spot.

“He’ll start and play his minutes,” Cuban said. “He’s not going to play as many minutes, so you want him warm and ready to go. I think his rotation will be similar to last year, but I’ll leave that up to Coach [Rick Carlisle].”

Off-season surgeries for Parsons and Matthews — and health issues with McGee — will prevent that trio from being heavily involved in all of the Mavs’ training camp activities. But the Mavericks are excited about rookie Justin Anderson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward from Virginia who was the 21st overall pick of June’s NBA Draft.

“He’s a beast, man,” Cuban said. “He’s physical, he’s coming in, he’s working hard every day, he’s putting in the time, he’s working on his ball-handling, he’s working defensively so he reduces the typical rookie mistakes.

“We were just watching him [Wednesday] — and I was talking with Coach — he’s a real player. He’s going to go through the rookie hiccups and the yips and everything, but he’s a real player.”

Last year the Mavericks were 50-32 and a No. 7 seed in the Western Conference before eventually losing to the Rockets in five games in the opening round of the playoffs. But with so many changes among players who will be counted on heavily, just getting to the playoffs this season could be a significant challenge.

“If we were in the East, we would be talking about being the third- or fourth-best team,” Cuban said. “But everybody has to play the games.

“We’ve had the same conversations, and we’ve had them for the last 15 years. There’s never been a day off in the Western Conference since I’ve taken over the team and this year is not going to be any different.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Mavericks face some colossal challenges this season."