With just one day until the Dallas Mavericks officially take the court in a game that matters, everything that has happened in Dallas this past summer, training camp and preseason has shaped this Mavericks team to overcome their loss in the NBA Finals of to avenge last season.

Dallas’s first game of the season will be against the San Antonio Spurs, which will also feature Victor Wembanyama’s first game of his second season. Needless to say, it will be an electric atmosphere at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night as there will be plenty of riveting stories to follow during the game.

There will also be plenty of players making their debuts for the Mavericks, such as Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes. Now that the Mavericks have traded away many key members from last year’s roster, it’s likely that the Mavericks will need some time to fully acclimatize before this team reaches its true potential, and head coach Jason Kidd will have to tinker with the rotation until it reaches its peak.

One thing the Mavericks won’t have to worry about Thursday night, however, is their health, as the Mavericks are expected to be fully healthy aside from guard Dante Exum, who is out with a wrist injury.

While this may not seem like a major takeaway considering this is the start of the regular season, the fact that the Mavericks are fully healthy gives them quite an advantage against plenty of other Western Conference foes who aren’t as fortunate at this point in the season are.

Just within the Southwest Division, there are a fair number of players who will already miss their regular season debuts, and in some other cases possibly much longer. For example, the Spurs will be without young guard Devin Vassell when they take on Dallas tomorrow, as Vassell expects to miss at least a week with a foot injury.

The same can be said for recently signed New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, who will also miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury. After an injury-riddled season last year, another rival for Dallas in the Memphis Grizzlies is far from fully healthy to start the season as they will be without Jaren Jackson Jr., Vince Williams, GG Jackson II and Luke Kennard as they begin their regular season tonight.

Some of the non-division opponents in the Western Conference that Dallas played in the playoffs last season have also had their fair share of run-ins with the injury bug. The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without new free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein to start the season, and LA Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss indefinitely with knee inflammation to start the season.

The injury landscape in the Western Conference is by no means so rocky that the Mavericks will have an easy path to a top four seed in the West or a great playoff run, as it’s far too early to determine how things will turn out expired. this regular season anyway. However, other teams being hindered from starting the season is something the Mavericks can clearly take advantage of.

Dallas’ only injured player in Exum isn’t a crucial part of Dallas’ rotation when healthy, even though he’s certainly a luxury to have, while some other teams in the conference are missing stars or high-level role players up front of the competition. Season 2024-25. There is a clear opportunity for the Mavericks to pick up some wins early in the season as a result, but only time will tell if that will ultimately be the case.