Predicting Mavericks 2026 NBA Cup Record After Schedule Announcement

The NBA is rolling out its 2026-26 schedule this week in preparation for the upcoming season. They announced the Christmas Day and nationally televised opening-week games on Tuesday, and now they've announced the NBA Cup Group Play.

This is the first bit of schedule news we've gotten for the Dallas Mavericks. For the NBA Cup group play, they're in West Group A, and the Mavericks will play the Houston Rockets at home on October 30th at 7 p.m. CST, the Utah Jazz at home on November 6th at 7 p.m. CST, the Denver Nuggets on the road on November 24th at 9 p.m. CST on NBC, and the Phoenix Suns on the road on November 27th at 8 p.m. CST.

Dallas Mavericks Group Play schedule for the Emirates NBA Cup: pic.twitter.com/UsVOOxNNfT
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) August 12, 2026

It's an interesting group of teams, but it should be pretty wide open. The Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets are expected to be playoff contenders, but the Nuggets have lost more this offseason than they've added.

The Rockets didn't make many meaningful moves this offseason outside of trading Dorian Finney-Smith in a salary dump to the Charlotte Hornets, and signing Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

The Utah Jazz should stop tanking now. They were able to draft Darryn Peterson with the second overall pick, adding him to a core of Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

Their center position is a little iffy, but they have a handful of good young players around two former All-Stars, Jackson and Markkanen. They still likely won't be playoff contenders, but they should be the same type of tier as the Mavs.

The Phoenix Suns are a wild card. They made the playoffs last year as the 7th seed, then traded Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and an unprotected first-round pick for Miles Bridges, a move that was met with a lot of scrutiny. They then signed Luke Kennard to fill the Grayson Allen role. Otherwise, they haven't made any meaningful improvements.

And then there's our Dallas Mavericks, who made a lot of interesting moves this offseason, trading AJ Johnson and some picks for Santi Aldama and Tarik Biberovic, getting Marcus Sasser in a quasi-salary dump from the Detroit Pistons, and getting former first-overall pick Zaccharie Risacher for Ryan Nembhard and a second-round pick.

They also had a busy draft, getting Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea in the first round, who have a good chance to be in the rotation. There are still plenty of questions about the roster, but pairing all of those additions with the return of Kyrie Irving from injury, and they should be improved this year.

Jan 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) looks up during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Predicting Mavericks 2026 NBA Cup Record

Based on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Mavericks have the lowest projected regular-season win total of the teams in their group at 34.5, but the Suns, Jazz, and Mavs are all fairly close together.

DraftKings has the Mavericks with the fourth-highest odds to win their NBA Cup Group at +650, ahead of the Utah Jazz at +1000.

That would make it pretty surprising if the Mavericks were able to win their group. They were able to knock off the Nuggets on the road last year, so anything can happen.

I'll predict the Mavericks to go 2-2 in group play, beating the Jazz at home and the Suns on the road. They have the frontcourt to be able to match Utah, and the Suns have bad vibes for me after the Bridges addition.

That would leave the Mavericks likely on the outside of the tournament.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Add us as a preferred source on Google