The Dallas Mavericks’ roster has changed significantly heading into the 2016-17 season. Sure, they still have Dirk Nowitzki (who just got PAID), but they lost Chandler Parsons in free agency to Memphis, and added two of last year’s Golden State Warriors players to their starting lineups (Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes).
Last year’s Mavs were… okay. They won 42 games, and lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. All around, the Mavs were a very average team. They barely broke .500, and were neither top-10 nor bottom-10 in the NBA in offensive or defensive rating; they were a very middle-of-the-pack team.
In 2016-17, the Mavs could be much better. Andrew Bogut is a great player. We don’t really know what Harrison Barnes is as a first option yet, but playing with Team USA has to be a great experience for him. There are also a lot of question marks for this Dallas team. Dirk Nowitzki is another year older; he’s 38, and can’t play forever. The team has two starters — Wesley Matthews and Andrew Bogut — who have histories of injury.
You can choose to look at this season as glass half-full or half-empty for the new-look Mavs, but either way, I’m excited to see what they can do.
The Mavs open the season on the road against the Pistons on October 26. Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut return to Golden State for the first time on November 9th. Dallas will play seven games in April as they race towards the playoffs. Five of those games will be on the road, and the Mavs will finish the year in Memphis.
The full Dallas Mavericks’ schedule for the 2016-17 season can be found here.
