SHANGHAI -- A preseason trip overseas usually is good for bringing a team closer together.
Players are sequestered on a long plane flight with nothing to do but talk to each other, play cards, eat together, play video games together or curl up and sleep.
When they get to their destination, they are foreigners in a land where very few people speak their language.
There's really not much to do for elite athletes except get their workouts in and get really close to one another.
It's called bonding, and that was the Mavericks' No. 1 goal on this journey.