For Irving, the two words for Mavs this season — consistency and discipline.

Anyone wanting to know the temperature of the Dallas Mavericks entering Thursday’s much-anticipated season-opener against the San Antonio Spurs, just ask guard Kyrie Irving.

“We’re in a great place right now,” Irving said following Monday’s practice. “I think a lot of us are motivated, we’re focused, we’re driven, we have our priorities straight, and we’re just ready for another long journey.

“I think the most important thing for us is just remaining healthy and doing everything we can on our off days to better prepare for our opponents, and also ramming up our film and our communication when we’re preparing for games.”

In other words, as one of the captains of the Mavs, Irving is urging his teammates to buckle up and prepare for another gritty and aggressive run to the NBA Finals, where Dallas lost to the Boston Celtics last season in five games. He knows now that the Mavs have had their taste of the Finals, they want to get back there and finish the job.

That’s why the intensity level in practice sessions during training camp have been at an all-time high. Especially since guard Luka Dončić returned last Friday after dealing with a left calf contusion that sidelined him for over two weeks.

“It’s very important to build that continuity, build that trust and just have some fun finally with everybody on the court,” Irving said. “It’s good to have a healthy group. We’re still relatively healthy – a few guys are down.

“But whenever me and Luka are in practice it’s going to be a high intense practice, because we want to go at each other and we want to compete and we want to set a great example for the rest of the guys, and I think the rest of the guys feel the same way for us. We want to go as hard as we can just to make practices a little bit harder than the games.”

With players such as Klay Thompson, Dereck Lively II, Naji Marshall, Daniel Gafford, P. J. Washington, Jaden Hardy, Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie, Maxi Kleber, Dante Exum and Doncic on board, Irving knows the Mavs can control the game and beat teams in a variety of different ways.

“I think we can show you better than we can explain it, because I can go down all the pieces that we have,” Irving said. “Practice has been fun just to feel the spacing out there, Luka being back out here, and he starts doing all of his Luka magic stuff, and guys got to be ready to play off of that. And I think that’s the beautiful thing.

“We have guys that you can play off of here, guys that you can throw the ball to and (isolate), guys that are willing to play selfless, and then also understanding that when we’re out there and guys are playing (isolate basketball), that’s not just our strong point. We have other options that we can have out there.”

Still, at the end of the day, Irving and probably everyone else in the free world already knows how teams are going to attack the Mavs from a defensive standpoint.

“Teams are going to load up on me and Luka, so we’ve got to do a better job as leaders of the team of being able to get off the ball, play in different roles in the positions on the court, and the rest of the good things will follow as long as we do the right thing,” Irving said. “I think the two words for this year is consistency and discipline.

“And that’s what we want to live by every single day when we come in here. And then also, how we treat our bodies and treat each other off the court (is important).”

The Mavs have certainly been in the bonding business lately. Some of the players got together at Thompsons home in Los Angeles this summer, then the first four days of training camp that were held in Las Vegas earlier this month provided more bonding for the players.

And last week while the Mavs were in Los Angeles to play a preseason game against the Clippers, Irving invited his teammates over to his house for more bonding moments. It all was part of everyone getting to know each other off the basketball court while forming an alliance.

“The little things matter when you’re trying to get to know people,” Irving said. “When someone takes the initiative to invite you places — let alone invite you to their home — you don’t want to take that lightly.

“Not everybody is as open to that, especially in our league and our industry, it is common for people to get together. But I feel like the teams that differentiate themselves have different relationships as well where they can talk to each other a little bit more because they’ve hung out off the court.”

Irving noticed all of that bonding manifested itself last season when the Mavs made their unexpected run to the Finals.

“When the transition happened for us — or the change happened for us, the shift — is when we started to develop that chemistry off the court, and that started to lead into more trust on the court,” Irving said. “This training camp and now, it’s all been about being intentional with our time, whether we’re on the court together, or being very communicative, and when we’re off the court just being regular and just making sure we’re there for each other.

“We’ve got a few guys that are having babies or already had babies, we’ve got some new fathers (and) new family members added to that mix. So, the tribe is growing, and our family is growing and it’s just great because the community is just as much a part of this as what we’re doing in here, and the support. So, it feels good to have an overall good feeling of what we’re doing in here, and then also off the court.”

Of course, the elephant in the Mavs is the offseason addition of Thompson, who was an integral part of four NBA championships during his 13-year tenure with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson is a big-time juggernaut, a tremendous three-point marksman, and the most accomplished free agent the Mavs have ever signed.

“I don’t take it for granted at all being out there with such a special talent, a special player, and an even better person,” Irving said, describing Thompson. “It’s definitely a luxury I don’t take for granted any day. When you get to know him, he’s a regular human being.

“He just stays to himself, he loves his family, he loves helping out people, he loves traveling. He’s just an overall good person. Again, it’s a luxury that we don’t take for granted having that type of guy and that type of personality in our locker room.”

While Irving was playing for Cleveland, the Cavaliers met Thompson and the Warriors three consecutive seasons in the NBA Finals. Thompson and the Warriors took home the top prize over the Cavs in 2015 and ‘17, and Irving and the Cavs won it all against the Warriors in 2016.

Thus, Irving is totally aware of experiencing a short offseason after reaching the Finals the previous season. That’s what the Mavs are now confronted with are now trying to navigate their way through.

“It’s a tricky process if you haven’t been through it and it’s a tricky process for anybody, because you play so much basketball, you’re tired mentally, emotionally, physically,” Irving said. “And when you’re not the winning team, it’s a long summer. It’s a lot of scrutiny (and) criticism you have to deal with, and all is fair in that sense, because if you don’t play well, then you’ve got to deal with that.

“I think that’s why I say our motivation is at a different level than it was last year just because we kind of know what to expect from one another. We’re delving with the concepts on defense, and then offensively we have all-world talent. We don’t necessarily worry about each other there. We just need to give each other space and be patient.”

Irving added that it’s imperative for the players to have a balance between work and life.

“If anybody’s had a parent out there that sacrificed the majority of their time to achieve their dream, they understand what I’m talking about,” he said. “I know what it looks like to not have work/life balance. Just being able to connect with guys on a deeper level, that’s what makes this job even more worth it.

“Going to work and feeling good about who you’re around and loving who you’re around – because I spend more time with them throughout the year, more than my family – it’s a good thing to like the guys you’re coming to work with. Secondly, I would just say the maturity. Just being able to put things in perspective. One game is not the end of the season. . .and we’re going to get everybody’s best. So, it’s no time to hold your head down or be mad at a mistake. It’s all a learning process, especially when you’re coming into a long NBA season.”

FOR NOW, MAVS FOCUSED ON THEMSELVES: Although the Mavs open the regular season at home on Thursday against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, at the moment, that’s not where they’ve directed their attention.

“That happens to be the game on Thursday, but right now we’re still focused on ourselves,” coach Jason Kidd said. “San Antonio is well-coached, they have a young player in Victor, and have vets – (Harrison) Barnes and Chris Paul over there — but we’ll start talking about them tomorrow and Wednesday.

“Today was more about us. Again, working on pace, working on a relationship chemistry with Luka (Dončić ), (Kyrie Irving) and Klay (Thompson), but also the other guys. We’re trying to look at different combinations to make sure that we have enough on tape to see and insert guys into their rotations and understand who they’re playing with.”

BRIEFLY: Forward Kessler Edwards (left ankle sprain) went through a full practice on Monday for the first time since training camp started on Oct. 1. That means every player was able to go through a full practice except guard Dante Exum, who recently underwent surgery on his right wrist. “Training camp and preseason, we were banged up,” coach Jason Kidd said. “To be healthy here – almost 100 percent healthy going into the season – is a good thing. That doesn’t mean we’re automatically going to win games, but it’s a different team. We have some new guys, so the more that we’re healthy, the more they create this relationship, I think in the long run we’ll be in a good position.”. ..Kidd said the attention to detail in practice “has been extremely high. And we need that. We can’t tip-toe into this season, and so we understand that. I think the guys have done a great job of doing their work and getting prepared for the season.”. .The depth of the Mavs should serve them well, according to Kidd. “I think the depth is really good,” he said. “You can see it in practice when you talk about the intensity, the competition at a high level. It’s not personal. It’s about getting us better, and that’s what I like about this group so far. There’s a lot of trash talking, there’s a lot of pushing one another, and it’s in a positive way.”

X: @DwainPrice