DALLAS, Texas — It’s official. The Dallas Mavericks have released the first half of their 2020-2021 schedule and it seems like the first part of the team’s schedule will be played mostly on the road throughout the months of December 2020 and January 2021.
The Mavericks will have one of the tougher opening schedules in the league not only because of the opponents they will face, but also because they will play 6 home games compared to 13 away games over the course of the first two months of the season.
The Mavericks will begin their season in Phoenix against the re-tooled Phoenix Suns December 23rd, then they will make a detour to Los Angeles to play the Lakers for their Christmas day matchup, then the Clippers on December 27th, before returning home to face the Charlotte Hornets two days before the New Year.
All three teams will be a sizable litmus test for the Mavericks potential. The Suns, Lakers, and Clippers all added pieces to their roster during the offseason, and simply got better.
The Phoenix Suns were arguably one of the hottest teams in the bubble. Monty Williams and this team will be much better than they were last year after adding veteran point guard Chris Paul to pair with their talented young players Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, and will look to rebound back from their performance in the Orlando bubble.
The Los Angeles Clippers who the Mavericks had on the ropes at one point during the bubble series, hired NBA Champion head coach Tyronn Lue and still have one of the best tandem of players in the NBA in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The Lakers haven’t been quiet during the offseason either. They re-signed Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and added veterans like point guard Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol. The last time the Lakers and Mavericks met on the hardwood was earlier this year and the Lakers walked away with the win while holding the Mavericks to a 40% shooting percentage from the field and forced 9 turnovers.
The challenge is there, and it doesn’t afford the Mavericks much room for error to begin the season, but it will be the ideal opportunity for the Mavericks to see how well their approach to the defensive side of the floor will take shape.
Check out the full portion of the Mavericks schedule click below.
Full Schedule
