on Friday.He outlined clearly to me that there will be

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NBA season kicks off on Wednesday night for the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks.New faces in both places breed renewed optimism entering the 2016-17 season.The Pacers parted with head coach Frank Vogel after last season, and team president Larry Bird said he wanted to redefine the way his team plays. The overhaul also brought point guard Jeff Teague, power forward Thaddeus Young and center Al Jefferson to the Pacers, who tout superior athleticism and depth than previous seasons.Indianas franchise player Paul George is looking forward to testing the new-look team in the regular season.I dont want to jump the gun and say this is the best team Ive been on, but its shaping up to be, George said. Ive got a new group with unbelievable talent.The Pacers face another of their former coaches, Rick Carlisle, who is entering his ninth season with the Mavericks. Indianas new coach, Nate McMillan brings a style of play to the franchise that might not be recognized.I think our roster puts us in a position to play any style, McMillan said. We want to play with a lot more ball movement. Our guys have to commit to running.Theres a lot of talk about George, Myles Turner and the new Pacer players, but former Maverick Monta Ellis will have a lot to say about the teams success this season after his most diligent offseason in several years.I rededicated myself this summer in the gym, Ellis told NBA.com. Last year was tough. I let the team down. Its a new beginning and I wanted to be part of that.Ellis is hoping to help the Pacers defeat his former team on opening night. Last season, he averaged 18.0 points per game against the Mavericks.For Dallas, the new faces on the team include two NBA champions from Golden State- Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut. The Mavericks havent made it out of the first round of the playoffs since winning a championship in 2011, and they will be relying heavily on these new additions to get over that hump.Theyre champions, said Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. Theyre great players and theyre part of a championship team, so they know how to play and they know how to win.A lot of eyes will be on Barnes in particular after signing a $94 million contract. His preseason performance brought heaps of criticism in Dallas.Theres going to be bigger expectations and Ill have a larger role on this team, Barnes told ESPN.com. But the biggest thing Ive learned in my four years Ive been in the league is that winning is the biggest priority.One of the issues for the Mavericks moving forward will be the aging point guards. Despite the talent, Deron Williams, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea are all on the wrong side of 30. As the NBA continues to play a faster game, the Mavs could struggle keeping up at that position.Last year, the Mavericks and Pacers had identical offensive numbers.Dallas averaged 102.3 points per game, while the Pacers averaged 102.2. In Wednesdays matchup, look for a high scoring contest as each team will try to get out and run on opening night.The Pacers won both games against the Mavericks last season. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Andrew Copp Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.cheapwinnipegjetsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-tyler-myers-jersey . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Bobby Hull Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Mathieu Perreault Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. An up-front Chris Fagan told Tom Rockliff soon after taking the reins at Brisbane his captaincy at the AFL club was under review.Rockliff has a tenuous grip on the Lions leadership after a disastrous past two seasons, speculation he would be traded and a sexist post-season tweet for which he had to apologise.In the conversations that Ive had with him and the few times Ive met him, he (Fagan) has been really up front with me, Rockliff told SEN radio on Friday.He outlined clearly to me that there will be a process that we go through to select the leaders for 2017.Thats all you want as a player. You just want honesty. He calls it how it is.Fagan, who was appointed as Justin Leppitschs replacement from Hawthorn following the Lions second-straight bottom-two finish, has previously said the captaincy was up for grabs.A decision on whether Rockliff would keep the rreins would not be made until a player leadership vote before the 2017 AFL pre-season NAB Challenge, Fagan said.ddddddddddddThe incumbent is fine with losing the position, saying he would take a team-first mentality to the review.Obviously, yeah, I would enjoy to be (captain). But in saying that, if Im not captain, Im fine with that as well, Rockliff said.If I remain captain, I remain captain. And if not, Ill fully support who it is.You play for team success.The Victorian identified Dayne Zorko, Dayne Beams and Daniel Rich as the players who could emerge to take control of the young Lions squad.Rockliff also denied he had spoken to rival clubs about a Gabba exit after speculation he would move to Adelaide during the trade period. ' ' '