The Mavericks open their preseason slate against the Rockets home and away, then face the same team again to start the regular season. Four players are targeting the same return date for the first of those three meetings.
Houston, Three Times
Dallas opens its preseason slate at home against the Rockets on Oct. 9, the game airing on NBA TV, then flies to Houston two days later for the rematch, also on NBA TV. The preseason schedule continues with Pelicans and Hawks games before the two teams meet one more time, for real, when Dallas opens its regular season at the Rockets on Oct. 21. No single opponent appears on this calendar more than Houston does over the next three weeks, and the first two meetings carry zero weight toward anything beyond rotations and reads.
Four Names, One Target Date
Morez Johnson Jr., Dereck Lively II, Santi Aldama and Kyrie Irving are all listed day-to-day, and every one of them carries the same estimated return date: Oct. 9. Johnson is working back from a lower leg issue, Lively from his right foot, Aldama from an undisclosed issue and Irving from his left knee. Lining up four returns on the same night as the preseason opener against Houston is a target, not a guarantee that any of the four actually plays.
What Dusty May Actually Sees
Dusty May gets his first in-game look at this roster on Oct. 9 with close to a fifth of his projected rotation marked day-to-day. The Mavericks enter at 0-0 with training camp still the only basketball on the calendar, so how Johnson, Lively, Aldama and Irving look in warmups will carry more weight than any preseason score. The real test of this group waits three weeks, back in Houston, when the games start counting on Oct. 21.
When do the Mavericks play their first preseason game?
Oct. 9 against the Rockets on NBA TV, the first of two meetings with Houston before the regular season starts.
Who is injured for the Mavericks entering the preseason?
Morez Johnson Jr., Dereck Lively II, Santi Aldama and Kyrie Irving are all day-to-day, each with an estimated return of Oct. 9.
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