Get in the car, Dallas Mavericks fans. The team’s first preseason game takes us to sunny Fort Worth. Preseason play is officially upon us when the Mavs host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena in a game that only matters as much as you let it.
This team cannot officially hurt you … yet.
The game against the Thunder is more of an opportunity to see who runs with who — and who forms early chemistry with who — than to worry about on-court results. It’s a first look at assistant
coach Jay Triano’s flow offense, which he brings with him from his time with the Sacramento Kings. It’s your first opportunity to see whether you buy into Dereck Lively II’s claim that he grew from 7’1” to 7’2” or 7’3” this offseason. For the record, the team website still lists Lively at 7’1” officially. It’s another early evaluation of all the promise Cooper Flagg brings to this roster and a chance to scout guys on the other end of the roster like Ryan Nembhard and Miles Kelly to gauge the viability of their potential contributions in the longer term.
Here are three things we’ll be paying close attention to in the Mavericks’ preseason opener.
Guard heirarchy
Nembhard has reportedly been getting some run at the point in training camp practice sessions. Where does he fit in, if anywhere? Will he use the four preseason games to worm his way into Mavs fans’ collective curiosity after going undrafted in the 2025 and signing a two-way deal with the team in June?
It will be interesting to see if D’Angelo Russell sets himself apart from the rest of the guards available on the roster. Is he the clear runaway choice for starting point guard, or will the Mavs enter the 2025-26 season with a middling muddle at the most important position on the floor?
It will be something of a relief if he does emerge as the clear frontrunner. With Brandon Williams sustaining a hamstring injury in training camp and the mysterious early absence of Dante Exum from the practice floor, Russell will likely be given every opportunity to do so. The lineup Mavs head coach Jason Kidd mentioned after Friday’s practice, of Nembhard, Flagg, Lively, P.J. Washington and Anthony Davis is an intriguing one, though.
Kidd called it “the big group” with Flagg playing at off guard. All the continued injury attrition may provide the 6’9” Flagg some runway to run the point himself at times, too. It’s an idea Kidd has floated at various times throughout the offseason, one fans will no doubt be itching to get an early look at this preseason.
Where do Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall fit in?
With a thin backcourt and a stacked frontcourt, it will be interesting to see where two key figures from last season, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall, fit into Kidd’s rotations against Oklahoma City. Thompson proved to be about what the Mavericks paid for him to be last year (14 points on three made 3-pointers per game while earning about $16 million), while Marshall stepped up into a larger role for this team as injuries mounted toward the end of last season.
The prospect of both of them coming off the bench bodes well for a powerful second unit, but Thompson is another year older than he was last year. That’s how time works. Getting a feel for how much is left in his tank offers another bit of intrigue heading into his second year with the Mavs.
Feel the flow
Get acquainted with the dribble handoff, folks. And get ready for Davis to be involved in a great many of them at or around the elbow. No team in basketball ran the DHO more than the Sacramento Kings during Triano’s tenure in Sactown, much to the benefit of Domantas Sabonis.
Using Davis in that way will rely on his ability to make quick reads with the ball in his hands and open up driving lanes for his guards.
It’s all about “playing through one another, playing for one another and trusting the pass,” Thompson told the Dallas Morning News after Thursday’s practice session at training camp in Vancouver. “We understand how deep our team is. We have a different personnel than we did last season so we have to play a different style. We have to play to our strengths, and that is cutting off the ball. That’s playing through our big men.”
Who’s ready to bear witness to Davis as facilitator? Does that excite you? Rate your state of readiness for the newest experiment in Mavs fandom on a scale of one to 10 in the comments.
How to watch
The Mavericks host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:30 CST on Monday at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena. The game will be aired locally on KFAA Channel 29 and can be streamed on MavsTV.
