So according to many experts in the field, this is where the NBA changes. Here, at the AT&T Center, on Wednesday night.

Victor Wembanyama makes his NBA debut for the San Antonio Spurs against the in-state rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, at 9:40 PM ET.

Will this be a slow development process for Wemby? Or will his team become an immediate playoff contender?

Uncertainty abounds for the Mavs too. Dallas was a disappointment after its very lackluster finish, as they dropped 14 games, reducing their win total to 38. Owner Mark Cuban is counting on some star power to get this team going. But adding some role players was a key ingredient in pursuit of an overall upgrade.

The Mavs obviously aspire to make the Western Conference playoffs, but they find themselves in a logjam with a lot of other teams, frankly, who are at about the same level they are. So how do they distinguish themselves from the likes of Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Minnesota, Utah and others in the West?

And if they don't show some signs of real progress, will they be trading down (rebuilding) by the time of the deadline?

One thing we know is that if Luka Doncic doesn't play most of the season healthy, any discussion of the Mavericks is moot.

Currently he is nursing a calf injury, which has left his status as questionable coming into this contest. He has been the do-everything guy for this franchise, and last season produced more great numbers, as he averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and eight assists.

The good news is that Doncic participated in the shootaround and he indicated he has every intention of playing.

Having Kyrie Irving in uniform may provide more questions than answers for Dallas - unfortunately. We say that, of course, because Irving has not been widely known as a guy who's fostered chemistry wherever he's been. And he's erratic.

And so while we all know that he can score, what does his presence really mean?

Well, when he and Doncic shared the floor last season, Dallas went 5-11. That brings out the skeptics, naturally. But the general consensus from those who have looked beyond the basic stats is that there were other reasons for Dallas' demise, and they didn't center around what the Luka-Kyrie combo produced.

When out there together, the team outscored the opposition by 4.6 points per 100 possessions. While that might not resemble Golden State's "Lineup of Death," or whatever it is they used to call themselves, it's pretty good for our purposes here.

And there are some people to complement them. We like the addition of role players like three-point shooter Seth Curry and Grant Williams, who was a key member of Boston's rotation last season. Anything to prevent the opposition from focusing too much on Luka or Kyrie.

And if none of that works, we wonder how much patience Cuban might have with his head coach. NBA legend Jason Kidd is currently priced at +700 to be the first NBA coach kicked out the door this season.

in the NBA basketball betting odds that have been posted on this game by the people at BetOnline, the Mavs are laying some points on the road:

Dallas Mavericks -4.5 (-106)
San Antonio Spurs +4.5 (-114)

Over 231 points -110
Under 231 points -110

The understatement of the 2023-24 season: San Antonio is building its entire future around Wembanyama.

He didn't disappoint many people during the summer league or the preseason, but there might be a concern with how many minutes he's going to be playng at least early on.

Gregg Popovich has been notorious for holding plsayers out or holding them down without notice, so what he does bears watching. The NBA's new watchdogging of excessive "load management" was inspired in part by some of his activities in that regard.

So who takes control out on the floor?

Well, there are some holdovers from last season's dismal tankl job of a season. Foremost among them is the leading returning scorer, Keldon Johnson, who averaged 22 points per game.

But when Wamby is out there, it's his show. You may even see him bring the ball up the floor from time to time.

And who from the Dallas side is going to corral him?

Well, the pivot won't be the Mavs' strong suit. There is rookie Derrick Lively, a prized high school recruit who played one season at Duke and gave the impression that he is very much a work in progress, and Richaun Holmes, who has shot 60% for his career and was a useful member of the Sacramento rotation before coming over.

Relief minutes for Wemby will be a key for the Spurs. Two of the guys who will provide it are Zach Collins, a 6-11 center who you may remember as someone who helped Gonzaga get to an NCAA final, and Charles Bassey, who averaged 5.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes last year.

On a straight-up basis, Jason Kidd has gone 1-6 in season openers in his career, while Pops is 23-3. So maybe you want to take that into account here.

That's difficult to ignore, but fundamentally, there is more going for the Mavs than there is for the Spurs, especially as we don't expect Wemby to be overly taxed right out of the chute. Doncic has played through a lot more pain than he's suffering now. Can Kidd keep Kyrie from getting too greedy? We're thinking maybe he can....tonight. Dallas is the play.

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