Dallas Mavericks vs Brooklyn Nets

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Following their thrilling victory over the San Antonio Spurs on the road to start the season, the Dallas Mavericks will take on the Brooklyn Nets in their home opener at American Airlines Center on Friday night.

Since Kyrie Irving was traded by the Nets to the Mavs in February, and since this will be his first game against his old team, naturally, the majority of attention will be on him in this one. Irving, though, has incentive for a possible "revenge" game; but, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, who were also involved in that February deal, have similar motive. Yes, and don't overlook Dennis Smith Jr., a former Mavs guard that the Nets acquired in the offseason.

"I was never on bad terms with the organization,” Irving said. “I think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything. But again, nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes.” 

In the most recent Mavs Step Back Podcast, we preview Dallas' game against Brooklyn by projecting Irving's likely stat line, explaining why Smith plays a little more aggressively when he sees the Mavs, and discussing whether or not Lively will have an easier night now that Nic Claxton is out for the Nets due to an ankle injury.

Given that the Texas Rangers are opening the World Series at home at roughly the same time, will the AAC be as boisterous and energetic as it usually is on opening night? In today's episode, we discuss all of this and a few other NBA-related subjects.