The complete 2024-25 NBA schedule was announced on Thursday. A few Dallas Mavericks games had already been leaked to the public, such as Klay Thompson's return to San Francisco to play against the Golden State Warriors and the Mavericks' NBA Finals rematch with the Boston Celtics. Now the Mavs and the rest of the NBA's schedule has been made available, and Dallas has no shortage of intriguing games.
However, there were be plenty of challenges for the Mavericks during the 2024-25 campaign. There are a number of difficult road trips and stretches against talented competition. Dallas is looking to take a step forward after finishing as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference last year. Earning a higher position in the standings will give the Mavs a much easier route to the NBA Finals.
Without further ado, let's break down the Mavs schedule and predict the team's final record.
Getting things started against Wemby and CP3
The Mavs will open the season on October 24th at home against the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio is led by reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and recently acquired veteran guard Chris Paul.
Overall, there is a decent mixture of challenging and potentially more winnable games to begin the campaign. Of course, in the NBA you can never take any team for granted. It should be noted that Dallas has two road games against talented opponents (Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves) within their first four contests to open the new campaign.
Klay Thompson's return as NBA Cup gets underway
November will be an exciting month in the NBA world. The NBA Cup will begin and Klay Thompson will play against the Warriors at Oracle Arena for the first time as a visiting player. The November 12 Mavericks-Warriors clash will also represent the beginning of the NBA Cup.
The Mavericks will also play against the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder on the road in November. In fact, Dallas will play in Denver twice during the month.
November is going to present a challenging schedule.
Christmas game
The schedule eases up a bit in December. The first four games are against teams that struggled during the 2023-24 season. The Mavs will host the Los Angeles Clippers for back-to-back games in mid-December, however.
The standout contest from December is the Mavericks' Christmas Day game against the Timberwolves. Minnesota and Dallas battled in the Western Conference Finals in the 2024 playoffs, and although the Mavs won the series in five games, many of the contests were competitive.
Dallas will then go on the road for a four-game road trip to end 2024 and open the new year. On January 1, the Mavs will play in Houston against the Rockets before returning home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 3. So the Mavs' first game in 2025 in Dallas will be against the Cavs.
Mavericks-Celtics NBA Finals rematch
On January 25, the Mavericks are set to play agains the Celtics in Dallas. Boston earned a 4-1 NBA Finals victory over Dallas last season. The Mavs will surely have some added motivation when playing against the Celtics as a result.
The Mavs' trip to Boston projects to be especially difficult, as it will represent the final contest of a five-game road trip. Four of those games will come against 2023-24 playoff teams (New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics).
January and February represent some of the most difficult stretches of the season.
Closing the regular season
March and April feature plenty of exciting games. The Mavs will play the Milwaukee Bucks twice. Additionally, they will play in San Antonio against the Spurs in two consecutive contests in March.
Dallas' back-to-back in Los Angeles against the Clippers on April 4 and April 5 may prove to be pivotal. If the Mavs play up to their expectations, there is a chance that they will be battling for the top seed in the Western Conference at this point. Taking care of business in the back-to-back in Southern California will likely be of the utmost importance.
Dallas will play its final home game of the 2024-25 season against the Toronto Raptors on April 11. The Mavericks will then end the regular season against the Grizzlies in Memphis on April 13.
Mavericks regular season record prediction
The Mavericks finished as the No. 5 seed in the West in 2023-24. They had a strong 52-36 record, but that mark is poised to get even better this year.
Dallas was among the top teams in the entire NBA after the 2023-24 trade deadline. Acquiring PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford changed the dynamic of the roster. The Mavs lost some key players during the offseason, but they have done more than enough to improve the roster with acquisitions of Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Thompson.
Our final prediction is that the Mavericks will finish the 2024-25 season with a 57-25 record.
Follow Us
Subscribe