Trip to Abu Dhabi and Spain helped Mavs with their impressive road record

DENVER – Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. believes that long trip to Abu Dhabi and Spain his team took to play three preseason games is the main reason the Mavs have the best road record in the NBA.

The Mavs played two preseason games in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 5 and Oct 7 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and another preseason game in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 10 against Real Madrid.

“Everybody clowns and laughs about preseason and us losing all of our preseason games, and not winning any of those games (overseas),” Hardaway told Mavs.com following Monday morning’s shootaround at Ball Arena. “But we looked at it as a time and place for us to bond as a team off the floor, and on the floor.

“Us using that time in Abu Dhabi and Spain and having great quality time with your teammates, people you’re going to go to battle with – basically your family – we took that serious and it shows right now while we’re on the road. Those were considered road games for us. I think we just are bringing that same wave and that same mindset and that same team bonding while we’re on these road trips to go out there and pull these wins out.”

The Mavs entered Monday’s game against the defending world champion Denver Nuggets with an NBA-best 9-4 on the road. They look like a different team away from American Airlines Center.

“I think when you look at our group, we’re just comfortable on the road,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Just being together and understanding what we have to do.

“No matter who’s playing, we always feel confident taking the floor that we have a chance to win. And you can see that on the road, and hopefully we can do that a little bit better at home.”

From Hardaway’s perspective, without the trip to Abu Dhabi and Spain, the bonding that took place in those cities would have been delayed. Especially with the Mavs having eight new players on their roster.

“If it wasn’t for the Abu Dhabi, then (the bonding) would have had to take place probably in the regular season,” Hardaway said. “Probably preseason would have been in Dallas where everybody has their families, so they go right back home.

“But we had activities (in Abu Dhabi and Spain), we had things we had to do as a team. Dinners the majority of time — we were there as a team. It was a great way just to laugh and to smile and to talk about our differences and how we want our season to play out moving forward.”

MONTROSS PASSED AWAY: Former Mavs center Eric Montross died Sunday following a battle with cancer at the age of 52.

Montross helped the North Carolina Tar Heels win the 1993 NCAA title and was the No. 10 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

Montross played 47 games for the Mavs – including 46 starts — during the 1996-’97 season and averaged 3.9 points and five rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game. One of his teammates with the Mavs at the time was Jason Kidd, who is now the Mavs’ head coach.

“Eric, you’re talking about a Tar Heel, ex-Mav, a big man who played the game the right way,” Kidd said. “A young life lost to a nasty disease that we’ve got to figure out how to fix.”

THE MILE HIGH AIR IS REAL: When asked about the mile high air that appears to take players on opposing teams’ breath away, Mavs guard Tim Hardaway said: “It’s real. It’s as real as it gets, man. Here and in Utah.

“But you can’t let it interfere with the way you go out there and compete. You just try to block it out to the best of your ability.”

On Dec. 6, 2022, Hardaway was able to block out the mile high air and pour in 29 points while making 6-of-8 three-pointers as the Mavs edged the Nuggets, 116-115, in Denver.

“I was just in my zone and tried not to think about it too much and just tried to play the game,” he said. “It’s easier when you’re making shots. When you’re making shots and things are going OK — or above par for the team to start the game — you kind of get your mojo, you kind of get your feet under you a little bit more.

“But when you’re missing a lot, things aren’t going your way, the legs start to get kind of tired, you’re trying to venture off somewhere else a little bit here and there. But other than that, you’re fine.”

Ironically, before Monday’s game, the Ball Arena public address announcer noted to the visitors about the negative effects of the mile high air, and that oxygen may be needed. He ended his remarks by saying: “You have been warned.”

BRIEFLY: For the Mavs, Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion), Dereck Lively II (left ankle sprain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) all sat out Monday’s game. Both Lively and Irving are in a walking boot, and coach Jason Kidd said there’s no timetable for Lively to return. “It’s good to see (Lively) without the crutches,” Kidd said. “He’s just in a boot. But I think we’ll know more when we get home. But he’s in good spirits.”. .Mavs guard Luka Dončić was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for outstanding his performance last week. In four games last week, Dončić averaged 36.8 points, eight rebounds, 11.5 assists and 1.5 steals, and also shot 49 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from three-point range in 41 minutes per game. That includes manufacturing an historic 40-point triple-double Saturday in Portland when he collected 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists during a 131-120 win over the Trail Blazers. . .Former Mavs guard Fat Lever was honored by the Nuggets on Monday. Lever played for the Nuggets from 1984-’90, and for the Mavs from ‘90-‘94. The Nuggets retired his No. 12 jersey on Dec. 2, 2017.

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