When the Mavericks started last season 10-11, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it nonetheless was less than they expected.
To be under .500 more than a quarter of the way into the season made things more challenging the rest of the way.
And it left a lasting impression on one of their veterans.
Tim Hardaway remembers the difficulty in recovering from their disappointing start to last season. But like two years ago, when they reached the Western Conference, the Mavericks know none of that has any impact on the upcoming season.
“It’s more of a clean slate,” Hardaway said. “But also we know how important it is to get off to a great start. We got to get off to a great start to the season and not dig ourselves a hole.
“And make sure we’re going into this thing healthy. Things happen, but at the end of the day, we have to take take care of our business and make sure we get off to a great start.”
A great start might be more problematic if the Mavericks’ health doesn’t improve in the final week leading up to the season opener.
Coach Jason Kidd reported on Tuesday that a new batch of injuries are posing hurdles to the make-ready process for the season.
Youngsters Jaden Hardy and Josh Green are the latest additions to the infirmary.
Hardy suffered an ankle sprain during Tuesday’s practice and was getting treatment on it afterward. Green fell on his back during Monday’s workout, Kidd said, and sat out on Tuesday.
This is in addition to Luka Dončić, who already has been ruled out for Friday’s preseason finale against Detroit and continues to get work done on his left calf strain.
On the bright side, Kyrie Irving was a full participant in practice on Tuesday as he recovers from a groin issue suffered in Abu Dhabi on the Mavericks’ overseas trip.
“Kai participated, he was great. Literally did the whole practice,” Kidd said. “Luka’s still being evaluated. So we’ll see how he feels as the week goes on.”
With Hardy and Green going down, Kidd quipped: “Just another day at practice.”
As for what the injury to Green, who is battling for a starting job, does to the preparation for the season and the final exhibition on Friday, Kidd said: “I think he (Green) was moving well today. We’re very happy with his movement. I don’t think it’s a setback. It gives someone an opportunity if he can’t go Friday or tomorrow – another opportunity for us as coaches and teammates to see someone in that position to see how they handle that. Today, (Dante) Exum was in that situation and I thought he did an absolutely incredible job today with Kai in the backcourt.”
Life in the fast lane: The Mavericks have made it a priority to pick up their pace this season, but their injury situation isn’t helping that pursuit.
“We look forward to trying to play faster as the season goes on,” Kidd said Tuesday. “But we got to get healthy, first and foremost. Our health right now is not in a good situation.”
But there still is a week before the regular season starts. The Mavericks got Irving back into full practice mode on Tuesday. With any luck, the others will ramp up their activity in the coming days.
Without them, playing uptempo is difficult.
“When you look at playing faster, you got to get guys to throw the ball ahead and attack, get a paint touch and then play from there,” Kidd said. “Our norm with Luka is to walk the ball up. With Luka out, we’re playing faster. Once we get him back, we got to continue to keep playing faster.”
If – and it’s a big if – the Mavericks can get into the habit of moving faster, it’ll pay dividends. Last season they were in the bottom three in the league in pace.
“You got to throw the ball ahead,” Kidd said. “You can’t walk it. To play faster, the ball has to get across half court and then have playmakers who can make decisions from that. We feel we have that.”
Briefly: The Mavericks requested waivers on Taze Moore, who they signed on Monday. The move perhaps paves the way for him to join the Texas Legends if he does not land in the NBA . . . The Mavericks have had to readjust their body clocks after the trip overseas. But the league instructed them to take two full days off upon their return, which helped. “It’s better now,” said Grant Williams. “If you had kids or something like that, it would be easy, but I don’t. So I’m trying to get those extra two hours. But it will come back as time goes on.”
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment