The Mavericks will want to forget pretty much everything about their season opener.
This is why they play 82 games, and we’ll assume it was an aberration not to be repeated anytime soon.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t some signs that the Mavericks have better days ahead, starting with Jalen Brunson.
He’s clearly going to be the first Maverick off the bench, at least in the normal substitution pattern. If Thursday’s opener is an indication, he’ll be playing some early minutes with Luka Dončić. And some while Dončić is catching a breather.
He also might be on the floor as a closer, although that wasn’t applicable in the 113-87 blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks Thursday.
Brunson missed his first four shots as all the Mavericks’ struggled offensively.
But the fourth-year guard stuck with it and made seven of his last nine shots, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. The Mavericks were minus-8 when Brunson was on the floor.
But that was by far the best plus-minus of any of the Mavericks who played more than 20 minutes.
“Started off terribly,” said Brunson, perhaps talking about himself and the Mavericks as a whole. “I got going a little bit, but you got to give them credit. They were in a rhythm and we didn’t find our rhythm.”
Coach Jason Kidd could only shake his head about the Mavericks’ offensive woes, which hounded them throughout the night.
But he wasn’t disheartened by the opener. The games will be coming in rapid-fire fashion now.
“We didn’t make shots,” Kidd said. “This is one game of 82. When you look at JB, he understands (what it means to be) a true competitor. He fought to the end. It wasn’t going offensively, but he stayed with it, got shots and hopefully that will be a carryover for Game 2.”
That comes Saturday at Toronto.
And Brunson echoed his coach’s opinion that things will improve dramatically.
“Clearly it didn’t look like it tonight, but everyone has gotten better,” Brunson said. “Everyone has found a way to get better. For us, our biggest thing is that we . . . can’t let this slip another game. And I know we won’t. We just got to have a short-term memory about this one and stick to what we know we can do and keep moving forward.”
Outside opinion: Sometimes, you have to go outside the box to find out what’s inside the box.
Atlanta coach Nate McMillan has been around the NBA as a player or coach since the 1980s. In his second season with the Hawks, he was asked before Thursday’s game what a Jason Kidd-coached Mavericks’ team was going to look like.
He said you could draw no conclusions from the preseason. But . . .
“Just knowing coach Kidd, his team is going to play aggressive basketball,” McMillan said. “They’re going to get up and down the floor. They’re going to play like he played. He wants to play an up-tempo style of basketball that is constantly attacking.
“And I think that’s going to be their identity. He’s done that pretty much wherever he’s gone.”
McMillan, who led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals last season, said that, despite what happened Thursday when the Mavericks scored only 77 points, they will be able to rack up points like a pinball machine.
“He’s a coach that gives his players freedom to play the game and play it with confidence – a lot of ball movement,” McMillan said. “He understands ball movement and having weapons on the floor. So, based off his style of coaching in the past, they’re going to be getting up and down and they’re going to be looking to put up a lot of points.”
Briefly: Before Thursday’s game, Kidd said that there will be no travel restrictions on guard Trey Burke as the team flies to Toronto on Friday. Canada has imposed rigid rules for individuals entering the country who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Burke had five points and two assists in 9 minutes against the Hawks . . . McMillan said one of the problems the Hawks face now is raised expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference finals last season. “Of course you hear it. Of course we see it,” McMillan said of the outside noise. “But we can’t focus on that. You got to focus on the guys in the room. So yeah, we did have a good season last year, but we have to go out and prove ourselves again this season.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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