TEXAS — The 2021-22 NBA season gets underway on Tuesday. It will look a lot more like seasons prior to last, and while there are only two games on the slate Tuesday – the Nets take on the reigning champion Bucks and the revamped Lakers face the Warriors – there’s plenty to be excited about in Texas this week.
The Spurs will get things started at home on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. with the Orlando Magic in town.
San Antonio finished 33-39 overall with a 14-22 record at home during the 2020-21 season. The Spurs averaged 24.4 assists per game on 41.9 made field goals last season.
Orlando went 13-29 in Eastern Conference action and 10-26 on the road during the 2020-21 season. The Magic averaged 104.0 points per game last season, 41.6 in the paint, 13.4 off of turnovers and 10.3 on fast breaks.
LINK: Spurs 2021-22 Schedule
The Dallas Mavericks will start the season on Thursday in Atlanta. Now that Luka Doncic has led his home country deep into the Olympic tournament, the star point guard’s next task is getting the Dallas Mavericks out of the first round of the playoffs.
His new coach happens to be the last point guard to win a postseason series in Dallas, and Jason Kidd’s best bet to do it from the bench 11 years later likely means figuring out how to turn Kristaps Porzingis into the European sidekick the Mavericks always envisioned.
“The simple way to put it is I want KP to be a basketball player,” Kidd said. “Being able to roll, to be able to shoot the mid-range, to able to put the ball on the floor, I want him to be who he is, a basketball player, and not just be limited to shooting 3s or crashing from the corner.”
LINK: Dallas Mavericks 2021-22 Schedule
The Houston Rockets will travel to the Target Center in Minneapolis to get the season started on Wednesday.
Houston finished 17-55 overall and 11-31 in Western Conference games a season ago. The Rockets shot 44.4% from the field and 33.9% from 3-point range last season.
Minnesota went 23-49 overall and 15-27 in Western Conference action in the 2020-21 season. The Timberwolves averaged 112.1 points per game last season, 17.6 from the free throw line and 39.3 from beyond the arc.