The first week of the NBA Season came to a close yesterday, and the Dallas Mavericks(2-1) have already made an impression. They fell short in San Antonio on opening night in a game that found the Mavericks one Chandler Parsons three pointer from taking down the defending champions. They quickly let that loss go in a dominating victory over the Utah Jazz for the Mavericks home opener, eventually finishing the week with a 109-104 victory over the Pelicans in New Orleans.

 

Kenny Smith: “The Dallas Mavericks, you see the difference. … The end of May, they’ll still will be playing. Guaranteed.”

— Bryan Gutierrez (@BallinWithBryan) October 31, 2014

The Mavericks now turn their attention to the Boston Celtics(1-1), who are coming off a 104-90 defeat to the Houston Rockets. Not an easy task to take on the three Texas representatives in one stretch, so they are quite fortunate to only have to play two of them this time around.

Dallas took both match-ups against the Celtics last season by an average of 8 points per game.

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Mavs Projected Starters

PG: Jameer Nelson

SG: Monta Ellis

SF: Chandler Parsons

PF: Dirk Nowitzki

C: Tyson Chandler

Celtics Projected Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo

SG: Avery Bradley

SF: Jeff Green

PF: Jared Sudinger

C: Kelly Olynyk

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What to Watch For:

 

A Full 48 Minute Performance 

 

In the first three games of the season, the Mavericks have showed just how strong they can be out of the gate. Where they continue to lack is coming out in the third quarters. Through the first three games, Dallas has been outscored by a total of 33 points in the third quarter, including being outscored 37-20 in New Orleans, allowing for a much closer finish. I look for Rick Carlisle to continue to stress the importance of maintaining the same aggressiveness from start to finish, and I think that starts tonight in Dallas.

 

Fast Paced Ballgame From Beginning To End

 

It’s hard to tell which Celtics game is the more accurate reflection of who they will be all season. They crushed the Nets in their opener, scoring 121 points, but could only muster up 90 points in Houston Saturday night. They also are allowing 104.5 points per game on defense, which doesn’t mean good things ahead when you have to face a team that leads the league in scoring at 109.7 points per game. Boston has Rajon Rondo, who is easily one of the best point guards in the game, and has long been sought after in trade rumors with the Mavericks. He can push the pace with whatever roster is given to him, so I expect this to be a fast and uptempo game from start to finish.

 

Share  The Wealth

 

Right now, it’s hard to find a team in the NBA that is better than the Mavericks at filling up the stat sheet with a plethora of players. Dallas has 6 players that are averaging over 10 points per game, which means on any given night, you could have production coming from any position. The ball movement has been excellent from the beginning of the season, and if the Mavericks continue to buy into the idea of being able to strike from anywhere, they should continue to give teams fits on defense.

 

Flashback Performance

 

If Tyson Chandler and the Mavericks can provide this type of energy tonight, 3-1 should be just around that corner.

 

PREDICTION: Mavs come out strong at home, and cruise past Celtics 111-95.

 

 

Tipoff is at 7:30 CST and the game is broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest.