Five months ago, the NBA season was about to begin and the two teams that will have a high-noon shootout Sunday at American Airlines Center were brimming with confidence.
The Philadelphia 76ers had just made a splashy offseason move to get Paul George and were ever-hopeful that the superstar grouping of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey could propel them into the category of the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
The Mavericks? Well, they were coming off an appearance in the 2024 NBA Finals and they had every reason to believe they were capable of winning it in 2025.