May’s NBA debut begins a six-game measuring stick

What changed

Dusty May’s first NBA regular-season game arrives Wednesday in Houston, where Dallas opens at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. It is the first result that counts for a coach making the jump from a national championship at Michigan to the Mavericks.

The calendar gives Dallas little time to settle. The Mavericks visit Indiana on Friday, host San Antonio on Saturday, travel to Miami on Monday, then return for Oklahoma City and another Houston matchup by Oct. 30.

That sequence turns preseason questions into immediate assignments. Dallas must handle ball pressure more cleanly, connect its defensive rotations and find dependable minutes behind Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg while the available frontcourt remains incomplete.

Six games will not define May’s tenure. They will, however, show which lineups he trusts, how quickly he adjusts between opponents and whether the team can preserve useful habits when the schedule compresses.