Mavs’ 2016-17 schedule breakdown

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It’s one of the most exciting sports days of summer: NBA schedule release day.

Now is the time when we can all look ahead eight months into the future to envision where our favorite team will end up in the standings, and know exactly just how arduous that team’s journey might be along the way.

The Mavericks’ journey might be just a bit less arduous than it was last season.

That’s because the NBA has continued its effort to reduce the number of back-to-backs and four-games-in-five-nights it assigns teams, choosing instead to give teams extra days in between games, even if it extends road trips. That can lead to some wonky travel schedules, but in general fewer back-to-backs will help the Mavericks, and Dirk Nowitzki in particular. The Mavs surely want the German to stay as fresh as possible this season, which means potentially giving him the occasional night off if Dallas has had a jam-packed schedule. The Mavs play just 15 back-to-backs this season after playing 17 last season, and the league average has dropped from 17.8 for all teams in 2015-16 to 16.3 this season.

That’s going to help the Mavericks a great deal as the season moves forward, at least in terms of keeping Nowitzki and the other veterans fresh for a potential postseason run. At 38, the German is likely to sit out for rest purposes during at least a couple back-to-backs, as he did last season. The Mavs enjoyed success in some of those games without him, as well, which should give Rick Carlisle more confidence in testing his team’s depth in 2016-17.

In addition to reducing the number of back-to-backs, the league made a concerted effort to limit the number of four-game, five-night stretches league-wide. The Mavs did draw one such stretch, which comes their way right after the holidays: at New Orleans (Dec. 26), home vs. Houston, then on the road at the Lakers and Warriors.

Just because the games will be more spaced out does not mean the road will be less traveled. The Mavs play nine of their first 13 and seven of their final nine away from home, including seven out of nine on the road from Nov. 8-25. Dallas then plays six out of seven away from home from Dec. 19-30.

The 2016 portion of the schedule is very road-heavy, which means 2017 will bring with it lots of games within the friendly confines of American Airlines Center. The Mavs play 13 out of 18 games at home from Jan. 30-March 11, a stretch which includes homestands of four and five games. One of those features a very rare back-to-back homestand, with games against the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.

But enough about numbers and complex breakdowns. Time to get to the juicy stuff. The Mavs’ home opener will come on Oct. 28 against the Houston Rockets, in what is becoming a pretty fun, competitive rivalry. Dallas begins the regular season at Indiana on Oct. 26, marking the only time the club will visit the Pacers on the road all season.

The defending West champion Golden State Warriors come to down for the only time this season on March 21, but the Mavs will visit Oakland twice before then. Nov. 9 will mark the first time Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut visit their old team since a major offseason shuffle resulted in them becoming Mavericks.

Perhaps the Mavs’ most difficult stretch of the season comes in late November, when Dallas will play at Boston, then play a back-to-back against Memphis and Orlando, then at San Antonio, then come home for the Clippers, then visit Cleveland, and finally come back home for the Pelicans and Spurs. Like last season, while we are going to find out a lot about this time right off the bat.

Some other key dates: The Clippers come to town on Nov. 23 and March 23, the Spurs on Nov. 30 and April 7, the Thunder on March 5 and 27, and the defending champion Cavaliers on Jan. 30.

But there are plenty of other important games to be played at American Airlines Center in what is probably going to be a season just as competitive as last year in the West. For example, No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons makes his first appearance in Dallas on Feb. 1, and No. 2 selection Brandon Ingram and the Lakers pay visits on Jan. 22 and March 7. Former Maverick Chandler Parsons makes his first return on Nov. 18, and Barnes’ Team USA teammate Paul George and the East darkhorse Indiana Pacers come to town on Dec. 9, along with former Maverick Monta Ellis.

It’s always fun to go down the schedule and count how many games are there for the Mavs to be won. But so much will change between now and the season opener Oct. 26, let alone the April 12 season finale. There will be trades, acquisitions, and (hopefully not too many) injuries, all of which could have a significant effect on the playoff race.

But at this point, given the relatively low number of back-to-backs and a home-heavy schedule in the last third of the season, the Mavs have to be feeling good entering yet another season with Nowitzki leading the way. This team should be able to stay as fresh as possible for most of the campaign, demanding as it is, and that’s going to matter in late March and into April, when the games really begin to matter a heck of a lot.

We’re just 76 days away from opening night. Basketball is almost back.

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