Dallas Mavs Prepare for ‘Physical’ Season Opener vs. San Antonio Spurs; Will Josh Green Start?

As the Dallas Mavericks prepare to be “physical” with San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, the team still hasn’t announced if Josh Green or someone else is starting at the three alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

At long last, the NBA’s 2023-24 season is here, as the Denver Nuggets take on the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns get things rolling against the Golden State Warriors tonight on TNT.

The Dallas Mavericks have to wait for Wednesday night to get things started, as they’ll hit the road to take on the San Antonio Spurs on ESPN. Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the crew will spend Tuesday fine-tuning their game plan in practice before putting their revamped roster through its first test.

Part of that fine-tuning is head coach Jason Kidd finalizing his starting lineup, especially when it comes to the small forward spot. Josh Green, who just agreed to a three-year, $41 million contract extension, is a leading candidate to land that spot, but he’s got some competition with newcomer Derrick Jones Jr. being "in contention" to start.

Josh Green led the Dallas Mavericks with 22 points in a preseason finale win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

On today's episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we talk about Green's new contract extension and what it means for Dallas going forward. Doncic and the Mavs need to play with more pace in order to maximize Green's abilities, and all signs point to that play-style adjustment being made this season. From there, we give a full preview of Wednesday's season opener, where the Mavs will aim to be physical with Wembanyama to hopefully minimize his impact.

"I feel like you just have to be physical," Mavs forward Grant Williams told DallasBasketball.com when asked about how he plans to guard Wembanyama.

"You have to make sure he can't get to the spots that he wants to get to. You have to make it difficult for him. Like any star player, you're gonna have to outwork them. They're gonna get the shots, they're gonna get the opportunities, so even if they have 20 points, you can't be mad at it, but you have to look up and see if they're 10-for-11 or 10-for-18. You know, that's a huge difference in this league."

You can watch and listen to our entire exclusive interview with Williams below. As always, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to hit that subscribe button on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts!