All three of Texas鈥檚 NBA teams tip off their seasons Wednesday night. And for the first time in years, expectations are highest for the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic established himself as one of the best players in basketball last season. He made the while leading the Mavericks back to the playoffs after a three-year absence.
He and the Mavs against the Suns. He'll do it as
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said during the team's media day that his young star鈥檚 needle is still pointing up.
鈥淟ook, he鈥檚 21. He鈥檚 getting better all the time. His game continues to be more and more refined each year in all areas,鈥� Carlisle said.
Still, Doncic isn't shy about putting his goal out there.
"Like I always say, I want to win the championship 鈥� and that's the goal we entered with last year and that's the goal we're going to enter with this year as a whole group," he said at media day.
Last season the Mavs were, statistically speaking, 鈥� but a first-round playoff loss to the Clippers showed defense was a glaring weakness.
That's why they traded for defensive stopper Josh Richardson. He鈥檚 one of five new players who could see regular action.
That meant the Mavs had to say goodbye to the last player remaining from the 2011 championship team, fan favorite J.J. Barea.
Optimism isn鈥檛 running as high in the state鈥檚 two other NBA outposts.
Last season, the San Antonio Spurs failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1997. They鈥檒l begin the season in Memphis Wednesday against the Grizzlies.
Meanwhile the Houston Rockets are struggling to regroup. Former league MVP .
The Rockets did pull off one of the league鈥檚 biggest trades in the off-season, sending Russell Westbrook to Washington for point guard John Wall.
The Rockets also replaced both their general manager and coach.
They open the season Wednesday against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.
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