MAVS FANS! Welcome to the first installment of "This Week in Mavericks Basketball." Each piece moving forward will have the same structure as this one. Weekly, we will be recapping the past week of games, breaking down the matchups in the coming week, injuries, and the best for last: "The Big Question Moving Forward". Let's get down to business and see what's new this week in Mavericks basketball!

Recap of last week 

Atlanta Hawks (Lost 113-87)

The Hawks' starting 5 played a perfect game altogether. Atlanta was cohesive and unselfish with the ball on offense which made it difficult for the Mavericks to slow them down. The Mavs were only down 7 at the half and had a chance to pull it off in the second half. However, that's when the Hawk's offense began to soar as they put up 35 in the 3rd quarter. The real issue in this game was the shooting of Luka and KP. They only combined for 29 while also causing 9 turnovers. This game would have been less of a blowout if Luka and KP made their shots, along with Dallas playing better interior and exterior defense. Not the best showing for Jason Kidd's coaching debut for the Mavs.

Toronto Raptors ( Won 103-95)

This game was a lot more promising for Jason Kidd and his Mavs. Luka came in firing with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists while his teammates KP scored 18 and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25. The Mavs looked pretty good against a rebuilding squad. They could have done better, but these are the kinds of games that grow the team closer, especially with the new coaching staff. A point of concern in this matchup was Luka's 3 point shooting. He was 2-10 and even had some airballs in this one. He has to take more efficient shots to make his squad better. Hero ball is for the Playoffs, not the second game of the regular season.

Matchups this week 

Houston Rockets (10/26)

The Rockets come to Dallas after a tough loss to the Celtics at home. This team is very young and is rebuilding. Do not let that fool you though. Second overall pick Jalen Green has been truly a spectacle for the Rockets, along with other young and dangerous pieces. The Mavs need to improve on defense and score more proficiently if they want to defeat this young and naive Rockets squad.

San Antonio Spurs (10/28)

After a strong opening win against the Magic, the Spurs have lost 2 straight to the Bucks and Nuggets. As usual with the Spurs, this team is no easy task to beat. They space the ball well and play cohesively, which is something the Mavs lack. Keldon Johnson leads the team in scoring at 20.7 a game (as of 10/24) while Dejounte Murray is putting up good stats with 13.3 ppg, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2.3 steals. The Spurs pose more of a threat to the Mavs than the Rockets. Dallas needs to be slow and steady on offense and try to cause as few turnovers as possible.

at Denver Nuggets 10/29 

The Nuggets start the week 2-0 after victories over the Suns and the Spurs. Although they are missing Jamaal Murray for most of the season with an ACL tear, Jokic has done wonders. As of 10/24, he is averaging 29.5 ppg, 14.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals. The 2021 MVP has truly started right where he left off by literally leading his team in multiple stat lines. Mavs will have to play great defense and minimize Jokic's ability to get points on the board. This will be the toughest opponent this week.

at Sacramento Kings (10/31)

The final game of this week is against the Kings. They have shown some promise as young guys like Halliburton and Mitchell have been great additions. Some starters on the other hand in De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes have come to play this year and are hungry for something more than an empty postseason. Barnes has averaged a double-double through 3 games with 28.3 ppg and 10.3 rebounds while Fox has a solid 18.7 ppg and 6.3 assists. If these two get hot along with the other young guys, this team could be dangerous on the road. The Mavs should prepare for an underrated defense and focus on their own perimeter defense as this Sacramento team is packed with skilled guards.

Injury Report

No injuries so far for the Mavs! Hopefully it stays that way for the time being.

The Big Question Moving Forward:

How much have the Mavs improved last year, and how will Coach Kidd utilize it?

It's easy to infer that the Mavs needed to make big changes if they wanted to get past the first round this season. We saw that it was in multiple fronts: the coaching, roster and team chemistry. The Mavericks to go with changing their staff and keeping the roster the same. There were multiple reports though that Porzingis was unhappy and was not getting along with Luka. Since then, private meedtings were probably had to rebuild the relationship of KP and Luka. Kidd presumably had a lot to do with it and expediently insisted that they both work on their weaknesses to streagthen the team. It may be early in the season, but there has not been visible change yet as we saw Luka go 2-10 from three and Porzingis not playing to his full potential offensively. There's still a long season ahead, but the Mavs need to show the changes they have made to avoid a similar end as last season.