The NBA recently released the first half schedule of the upcoming 2020-21 season. Owing to complications that may arrive due to COVID-19, the rest of the schedule hasn’t been released. Let’s take a look at Dallas Mavericks’ schedule.

The Mavs had a fantastic run last season. Finishing as the 8th seed in a loaded conference, they faced the LA Clippers in the first round of the Western Conference and lost the series in 6 games. Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis missed the last 3 games, leaving Luka Doncic hapless.

The team knew that offensively they were a force to reckon with. This off-season they have made some more defensive moves, and in their initial stretch of games, they will need their players to step up.

The Mavs have their first 3 games on the road. They start their season away at the Phoenix Suns on Dec 23rd. From their opening 16 games, Dallas will play 11 of their matches on the road.

These games also include games against 3 top teams in the West, the LA Clippers, the champions Los Angeles Lakers, and the Denver Nuggets.

After facing off against the Pacers, they will face the champions’ Lakers in the last match of a packed Christmas Day. After that, they will face Lakers’ noisy neighbors, the LA Clippers.

The Mavs will be without their star, Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to return in January. Without their star, they will hope that Luka can replicate his form in the Playoffs where he averaged 31 points, 8.7 assists, and 9.8 rebounds per game.

Key Games

Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers – 25th Dec, 7:00 PM

The Mavericks have a very difficult run of fixtures initially. This match against the Lakers will be the toughest of them all. The Lakers have a loaded squad as they had a very busy off-season, adding players like Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, etc.

The new Mavericks signings like Josh Richardson, James Johnson, will have to step up and defend against the Lakers.

The main matchup though will be Luka Doncic vs LeBron James. Doncic, in his short career in the NBA, looks like a legendary player in the making and is often compared to the King.

James, meanwhile, has been vocal about liking the 21-year-old protege. It’s a shame that Porzingis might miss this match, or we could have seen the epic duel between Anthony Davis and Porzingis.

Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers- 27th Dec, 2:30 PM

The Mavericks after facing the Lakers will face off against the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led Clippers. The Clippers have a point to prove this season. Last season they were the favorites to win the championship but were defeated by comeback kings Denver Nuggets.

This season they have brought in an experienced big man in Serge Ibaka and a backup point guard in Luke Kennard. Doncic might have to replicate the form he had in the Playoffs against the Clippers.

He even managed to bag a buzzer-beater to steal a game away from them. The Mavs will need a Luka masterclass to win this game.

Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets- 7th Jan, 9:00 PM

The Denver Nuggets are coming off a great playoff run. They had a mixed off-season as they lost 2 important role players in Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee.

They still have their duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. It will be interesting to see how they match up against the Doncic led Mavericks.

Mavericks’ Partial Schedule for the 2021 season