The Mavs released their 2017-18 schedule on Monday, and it’s clear that the schedule won’t take it easy on former NC State point guard, and potential NBA rookie of the year candidate Dennis Smith Jr.
Beginning his NBA career against Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder at home on Oct. 18, Smith will then find himself matched up against No. 5 overall draft pick De’Aaron Fox, veteran lead guard George Hill and the Sacramento Kings two nights later. From there Smith will see some of the Western Conference’s top lead guards during his first week in the league with four straight games against perennial All-Star candidates like Houston’s Chris Paul, two-time MVP Stephen Curry of Golden State and Memphis’ Mike Conley. A date against No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz looms from there when the Mavs welcome in the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 28. And with early-season matchups against Washington’s John Wall, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, scoring champion Isaiah Thomas of Boston, San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon of Milwaukee and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City to come in November, Smith will immediately be thrown into the fire on the defensive end of the floor. (Mavs)
Vegas thinks that Smith Jr. is the second most likely rookie to win the 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year award, but as you can see above, it won’t be an easy road.
Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle believes that Dennis has what it takes to be in the conversation, especially on the offensive end, but defense will be the area he will be playing catch up on the most.
“This is a fact: There’s no player that comes into this that can be totally prepared to play defense in the NBA with the pace, the strength difference, the speed difference and all those kinds of things. But I think Dennis understands that staying on the court to do that means you’ve got to be strong in both areas,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Smith’s defensive abilities earlier this summer. “It’s important to attack the guy that’s going to be attacking you at the other end, but you’ve got to be able to guard him, too. And you’ve got to have a system in place where your teammates can help you do that, so that’s going to be one of the biggest parts of his learning curve. You know, I expect the offensive stuff to happen pretty naturally just based on what I’ve seen on film, but NBA defense is a different metabolic situation. There’s a lot to learn, and he understands that. (Mavs)
This isn’t lost on Smith Jr. Defense isn’t a priority in AAU basketball, and unfortunately it wasn’t a priority under Mark Gottfried during his one season at NC State.
“I want to learn exactly how to play defense,” Smith confessed back in June. “You know, that’s not something that was really pressed about last year. And with the staff we had, we were more of an offense-oriented team, so we really didn’t learn too much about defense. I’m looking forward to learning a lot about it this year, and I think that will be the main thing — learning how to play.” (Mavs)
(This isn’t an article about former NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. This isn’t an article about current NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. With that being said, it PAINS me to read the above quote. It’s one thing to have a team that doesn’t execute their coach’s defensive strategy well. It’s another thing to say ‘we really didn’t learn too much about defense.’ Let’s HOPE Keatts TEACHES these Wolfpack players how to play defense.)
Stay tuned to PackInsider all year long, for continual Dennis Smith Jr. coverage. The Mavs kickoff preseason play on September 2nd at home against the Bucks, and the regular season on October 17th against Atlanta at home.
