The Dallas Mavericks play the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday as the 2014-15 NBA season tips off. The game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET
The defending champs return to the AT&T Center to raise up banner numero cinco. They'll be short-handed, with Leonard, Mills and Splitter out, and taking on a Mavericks squad that could be ready to contend in the West. No one ever said winning back-to-back titles was easy.
San Antonio begins their title defense Tuesday night against the visiting Mavericks. While the Spurs remain a favorite to win the championship, coach Gregg Popovich knows each season is like starting from scratch.
"It's all about starting at the beginning every year. Not skipping steps," he said, via ESPN. "You've heard me say that a million times. It really is the truth. You have to build it all over again. You can't just assume you're going to start where you left off. Luckily, I've got a group that understands that and allows me to start at the beginning."
Popovich's championship-winning unit is largely returning intact. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili continue to defy age, and finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who'll be sidelined Tuesday with an injury, doesn't become a restricted free agent until after the season.
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Dallas, meanwhile, made some major upgrades during the offseason. They brought back Tyson Chandler, the former Defensive Player of the Year, and signed Chandler Parsons at the 3-spot.
"I feel like we got better again," said Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. "I think every summer, that should be the franchise's goal. I feel like we got better and took a great step forward, but we all know how tough the West is. It's going to be tough to break into the top four."
Like Popovich, Nowitzki understands nothing is a given.
"We've got a good and deep team now, and we just want to make our own destiny," Nowitzki said. "We can't always live in 2010-11 (when Dallas won the title). That was a great year for us, but this is almost a completely new team."
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Injury Report:
Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills and 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard will all be in suits for the San Antonio ring ceremony in tonight's season opener against Dallas.
Leonard missed all but one preseason game with a nasty right eye infection, while Splitter didn't play at all, nursing a calf injury. Neither player is expected to miss a serious amount of games, but they won't be available on Tuesday night.
Mills' absence was expected after he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason. His return will likely come in January.
What it means for the Mavs
With the injuries, the starting five for San Antonio will likely look as such: Tony Parker,Danny Green, Marco Bellinelli, Tim Duncan and either Matt Bonner or Boris Diaw. Kyle Anderson should get minutes off the bench behind Bellinelli.
The loss of Splitter and Leonard removes arguably the team two best defenders, especially for matching up with Dirk. After a poor shooting series against the Spurs in last year's playoffs, it wouldn't surprised me if he reminds people how good he still is.
It's never easy to beat the Spurs, but an old Nelly-ism is that if you're going to knock off a team like this, the ring ceremony is a good time to do it. At practice on Monday, Devin Harris agreed to a certain point, saying that he's seen it distract a team in some situations, but motivate teams in other ones.
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