TEXAS-SIZED SUNSET 

Once the Mavericks learned they would tipoff the 2022-23 regular season at Phoenix when the NBA released its full schedule in mid-August, Dallas coach Jason Kidd had already sensed what would be on the minds of those who recall what unfolded the last time these teams met in the desert.

“Everyone will talk about the last time,” Kidd, the Mavs’ second-year coach, told reporters Tuesday after his team’s final preseason practice.

To refresh everyone’s memory, what precisely transpired in the latest meeting between Dallas and Phoenix is something Suns faithful — or anyone, for that matter — never saw coming: a total obliteration by the visiting Mavericks, who sent the top-seeded Suns packing, 123-90, in the winner-take-all Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Heading into Wednesday night’s nationally-televised season-opener against Phoenix at Footprint Center (at 9 p.m. CST on ESPN), the Mavs are fully aware they will face a Suns squad that will come out aiming to atone for the embarrassing defeat they were dealt 157 days ago.

For the Suns, who were favored by various media pundits to return to the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year, it was a disastrous end to the season for a high-powered Phoenix team that trailed Dallas by as many as 46 points.

For the Mavs, meanwhile, it was their second largest Game 7 margin of victory in franchise history — Dallas outlasted Houston, 116-76, in the 2005 playoffs — and one that officially put the league on notice that this team, in all likelihood, figures to be a tough out in the postseason for years to come.

Regardless, one thing Kidd doesn’t expect to witness when his Mavs face the Suns Wednesday is a lopsided result similar to the one that took place in May.

“We open up tomorrow at Phoenix, so we’ve got our hands full,” Kidd said.

Indeed, they will.

But so will the home team.

That’s because the Suns once again must devise ways to contain superstar Luka Dončić and Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavs’ 1-2 punch who combined for 48 of the team’s 57 first-half points to help Dallas build a 30-point halftime advantage against Phoenix in the decisive Game 7.

Dončić and Spencer finished with 30 and 25 points, respectively, in that series-clinching game.

Dubbed the favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award by a host of league executives, Dončić’s fourth NBA season could very well be his best thus far, this after the 6-foot-7 Slovenian enjoyed a year in which he led the Mavericks with 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists.

PARTY CRASHERS

Traded last season near the All-Star break from Washington to Dallas along with Dāvis Bertāns in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis and a protected 2022 second-round pick, Dinwiddie has emerged as a full-time starter, replacing the departed Jalen Brunson (who signed with New York). This comes after a year in which the nine-year veteran started 23 regular season outings for Dallas, averaging 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists.

Besides Dončić, forwards Reggie Bullock (8.6 ppg last year) and Dorian Finney-Smith (11.0 ppg in a team-high 80 starts) are the other returning starters for a Mavs team that finished fourth in the Western Conference last year with a 52-30 mark.

Center JaVale McGee, a 15-year veteran who is in his second stint with Dallas, returns for his second full season with the team and will round out the Mavs starting lineup.

DESERT STORM

“Looking at our schedule, we’ve got to take it one game at a time,” Kidd said. “I’m comfortable with the team. But I think in any professional sport, it’s never a finished product. It’s an opportunity to change. It’s a different, but I’m comfortable with this group.”

Meanwhile, after a year in which they manufactured the NBA’s best record during the regular season (64-18), the Suns return four of five starters from last year’s squad, including seven-year veteran Devin Booker, who led the team averaging 26.8 points in 68 starts.

Complementing Booker once again in the backcourt is veteran point guard Chris Paul, who is back for a 17^th season, his third with the Suns.

A 12-time All-Star, the 37-year-old Paul made 65 starts last season, averaging 14.7 points and a team-best 10.8 assists.

Also back for the Suns is center Deandre Ayton after an offseason in which he became a restricted free agent and emerged as the center of trade rumors. Now in his fourth season, Ayton whom, in July, signed a four-year, $133 million extension to remain in Phoenix, made 58 starts last year, averaging 17.2 points (second-best on the team) and a team-high 10.2 rebounds.

Suns big man Cameron Johnson is back for his third NBA season. In 66 regular season appearances last year, the former North Carolina star made 16 starts, averaging 12.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing.

Mikal Bridges is the lone new addition to Phoenix’s lineup, replacing veteran Jae Crowder, who is not with the team, according to the Suns’ pregame notes.

Heading into Wednesday night’s season opener, Kidd expects Phoenix to have the backing of its usual raucous crowd, which recalls all to well last year’s season-ending meltdown against Dallas.

“It’s a new season, a different team, and I think they would probably say the same thing,” Kidd said. “It’s the (season) game opener. Phoenix has some good fans, so they will be there to support their Suns. It’s a huge test for us on the road early.”

Only this time, the stakes aren’t as high as they were the last time these teams squared off in the desert.

Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder/Publisher & Editor In Chief of Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson has covered the National Basketball Association since 2010. To reach Johnson, call him at 901-690-6587 or send email to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.