Mavericks 2020-21 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

The 2019-20 Dallas Mavericks improved by 10 wins despite playing seven fewer games last season in a campaign shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luka Doncic developed into one of the game's top stars overnight en route to becoming an All-NBA First Team player and a nightly triple-double threat. He teamed with 7'3" big man Kristaps Porzingis, and that partnership worked well with KP averaging 20.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

The rest of the Mavs rotation admirably filled their roles as well.

The Mavs easily made the playoffs and fought hard in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers before ultimately falling in six games. Porzingis only played in two-and-a-half of those contests after a questionable ejection midway through Game 1 and sitting Games 4 through 6 with a knee injury.

Dallas will look to take the next step in 2020-21 with a much deeper playoff run behind its franchise superstar in Doncic, his right-hand man in Porzingis and the rest of the Mavs.

Here's a look at the team's first-half schedule, some notable matchups and a season forecast. 

2020-21 Mavericks Schedule Details

Season Opener: Dec. 23 at Phoenix Suns

Championship Odds: +2200 (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

First-Half Schedule: NBA.com

Top Matchups

Los Angeles Lakers 

All roads to the NBA Finals will run through a purple-and-gold-clad Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the kings of the NBA castle after winning the 2020 NBA Finals. Now they're shooting to create another Lakers dynasty in the franchise's rich history.

They're working to emulate the late legend Kobe Bryant, who won a three-peat with the Lakers from 2000-2002 alongside Shaquille O'Neal before going back-to-back with Pau Gasol in 2009 and 2010.

The Mavs will need to take down the Lakers if they want to earn the franchise's first NBA Finals berth in 10 years.

LA has proved to be a near-unstoppable force when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and jelling, and they're flanked by a near-perfect complement of role players who can do anything from run the offense, rain threes, play great post or wing defense or do the dirty work down low.

Dallas features some solid role players outside Doncic and Porzingis, but those players probably aren't at the level of the Lakers. That will make life difficult for Dallas in its quest for the No. 1 seed, but Doncic has been phenomenal and may take matters into his own hands against the Lakers next season.

Los Angeles Clippers 

The Mavericks-Clippers series was not exactly a warm-and-fuzzy matchup.

Of note, Porzingis was ejected in Game 1 after the two teams engaged in a shoving match:

Clips forward Marcus Morris was in the middle of that one, and he was also assessed with a flagrant-2 foul on Doncic in Game 6.

Doncic did not take to that one kindly:

So there's a bit of history here leading into their regular-season matchups. The Mavs will be out for revenge after losing to the Clips in the playoffs. They were arguably the better team on the floor when Porzingis played, but he missed three-and-a-half games in the six-game series.

Porzingis will miss the start of the 2020-21 season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee, but regardless of whether he is available for Dallas' first game against the Clippers, the Mavs will be threat thanks to Doncic.

Ultimately, these battles could determine the West's No. 2 seed and perhaps No. 1 if the Lakers encounter some unforeseen problems, such as injuries.

Season Forecast

It's hard to forecast how the Mavs will do without looking at the Western Conference as a whole.

Unless James and/or Davis miss large swathes of the regular season because of injury, the Lakers should coast to the Western Conference's No. 1 seed en route to searching for back-to-back titles.

It's also possible James finally starts to slow down at age 36 in his 18th NBA season, but the King's seemingly eternal fountain of youth should not be bet against.

After L.A., the race to be the West's No. 2 seed is wide open, and this is where the breakdown begins.

The West is simply loaded with talent, to the point where the suddenly scorching-hot Phoenix Suns (8-0 in the NBA bubble) and Memphis Grizzlies (featuring Rookie of the Year and future perennial All-Star Ja Morant) did not make the playoffs. It's also a conference where a two-time NBA Finals MVP and unquestioned top-10 NBA star in Kawhi Leonard could not lead his Clippers to the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers are a cut above, but the heated race for No. 2 is on.

The guess here is that the Mavs win that battle. That prediction is a bet on Doncic continuing his development to the point of becoming the league's MVP and averaging a triple-double along the way. He's near impossible to guard and has unlimited range to boot. Flanked by a trusty sidekick in Porzingis, the Mavs arguably sport the West's best one-two punch outside James and Davis when Porzingis is healthy.

Of course, the West is filled with dangerous duos. The Denver Nuggets have breakout playoff star Jamal Murray and All-Star big man Nikola Jokic who went to the Western Conference Finals. They were nearly picked off by another guard/big duo in super scorer Donovan Mitchell and defensive superstar Rudy Gobert. The Portland Trail Blazers rain threes from Lake Oswego with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

But the bet is on Doncic's stock to continue rising and besting all other competitors minus the Lakers. Look for Doncic to have one of the more dominant individual seasons in NBA history while leading the Mavs to the No. 2 seed in the West playoffs.

Record Prediction: 55-17

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