Coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Washington Wizards are hoping to bounce back from their disappointing 19-63 record in no time. However, the first task at hand will not be an easy one as Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards will travel to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. GMT.

Although barely anything went the right way for Washington in 2008-09, the team around Gilbert Arenas might be in the race for home court advantage this year. Most importantly, franchise cornerstone Gilbert Arenas has fully recovered and will be back on the court. Like in the past, he can be expected to open things up for his teammates due to his ability to draw double teams and his outstanding passing skills. Needless to say that he might be one of the best scorers in the league if he manages to continue where he left off before his injury. Likewise, the Wizards were able to acquire the services of Mike Miller and Randy Foye in exchange for Washington’s fourth overall draft pick.

The Mavericks on the other hand made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals in 2008-09, but fell to Carmello Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. Like in recent years, owner Marc Cuban showed the willingness to take on more payroll in order to improve his squad over the summer. Most importantly, the Mavs acquired wingman Shawn Marion from the Toronto Raptors who will see significant playing-time at both forward positions and should provide Dallas with solid perimeter defense night in and night out. Likewise, newly acquired rotational player Kris Humphries, starting center Drew Gooden and first round pick Rodrigue Beaubois looked very impressive in the Mavs’ preseason and should make the team around Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd even deeper. Taking everything into account, it looks indeed like the Washington Wizards are overdue for a major leap in 2009-10, yet it remains to be seen whether their run will start on opening night. After all, the Mavericks can count on a deeper roster and a core unit that has been playing together for many years. Either way, both teams can be expected to play up-tempo fastbreak basketball and should provide for an entertaining ball game on Tuesday night.

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