The first game sans-Nowitzki was an 83-81 win despite the Hornets having a chance to tie the game on the last possession with a Jarret Jack shot in the lane that fell short. Considering the Mavericks went 2-7 over a nine game stretch without Nowitzki last year, Dallas will take any win they can get without him in any way possible.

Part of getting to where the Dallas Mavericks want and need to be this year includes beating the teams they are supposed to beat on a regular basis. Getting the 4-6 Milwaukee Bucks at home qualifies as a team the Mavericks should be able to beat even as they work to regain their full confidence.

On a night when ninety-percent of New Orleans was probably watching the Saints’ NFL playoff game against the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Mavericks took on New Orleans’ basketball team in a potential get-well game after an absolute thrashing in San Antonio at the hands of the Spurs two nights ago. As is always the case with a tough loss, the Mavs were eager to get the bad taste out of their mouth by performing well in their next game.

While getting wins is always the first priority, the Mavs’ second focus is finding their mid-season form as fast as they can. That includes Rick Carlisle, who is inching closer and closer towards deciding on a rotation that he is comfortable with. Monday’s win over the previously unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder gave the Mavs their confidence back, but it’s about finding consistency with that confidence and running with it during this shortened season.

The last image we have from the previous Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder meeting is Kevin Durant holding a smoking gun after drilling a buzzer beating three-pointer to send the Mavs packing with a record of 0-3 to start the year.

In what would historically be a “get well” game for Dallas against Toronto, the Raptors represent exactly the kind of challenge feared by an older Mavericks team with such a tight schedule. After a mentally and physically exhausting game in OKC, the young legs of Toronto could threaten to run Dallas right out of the gym if they weren’t properly recovered.

For the Dallas Mavericks, there’s nothing left for them to do this season except to start winning. They’ve already seen a season’s worth of odd events and in-game situations that a veteran-filled squad has seen too many times. Stacking up wins is the habit they would like to start forming, and soon.

Obviously, only two games into a season of 66 make it absolutely ridiculous to panic after losing both games, but that won’t stop Maverick fandom, and most scribes in their writing, from doing so.

The show put on by the Dallas Mavericks during the pre-game ceremony did not disappoint. The one they put on the floor to start their 2011-12 season did.

There were two roads the Dallas Mavericks front office could’ve taken this offseason. One was to re-sign many of the free agents who helped win it all for the Mavs, crippling their salary cap freedom for the future. The other was to reload with new pieces surrounding their core, while remaining flexible cap-wise. Dallas chose the latter and there is no going back.