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The Mavericks will start the preseason on Tuesday without center/forward Dwight Powell.

The 6-10 Powell suffered a strained left hamstring during practice on Saturday, sat out the open practice on Sunday and will not travel on the trip to Tulsa against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Wednesday at Detroit.

“We’ll update (his status) on Friday,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He will not make the trip. We hope it’s not serious. We’ll know more as we go along.”

Powell could end up being a starter at center this season. The sixth-year veteran finished strong last season and had his best overall year, averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21 minutes per game.

With Powell sidelined, that means added opportunities for Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and rookie Isaiah Roby.

SCRIMMAGE HIGHLIGHTS

Many Mavericks are capable of producing highlight-reel plays.

But an unlikely source came up with a monster play during the second half of the open practice when Maxi Kleber caught a pass in the paint and proceeded to wind up with his right arm and throw down a windmill dunk that would have made LeBron James proud.

It not only brought the big crowd to its feet, but also got all of his teammates off the bench in a rousing ovation.

That was one of the best moments of the scrimmage, but by no means the only highlight.

When J.J. Barea was announced as Carlisle was introducing all the players, the entire arena erupted and gave Barea a lengthy ovation.

He has been out since January when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“Barea’s an amazing athlete,” Carlisle said. “One of the most amazing and resourceful athletes I’ve ever seen. The fact he’s able to walk back out here after seven or eight months and basically look like nothing ever happened is just tremendous. It speaks to his positive approach to rehab and taking on challenges. And it speaks to the fact that we’ve got great medical people. And he’s got an extremely strong will.”

Barea didn’t disappoint. He made a 3-pointer and showed no ill effects of the Achilles surgery.

WHAT’S IN A (NICK)NAME

Carlisle took the microphone before the scrimmage began and introduced all 20 players, including newcomer Boban Marjanovic, who Carlisle took time to single out.

“Tell them about your nickname,” Carlisle said before moving the mike to Marjanovic.

“My nickname? Boby,” Marjanovic said with a sheepish grin.

BRIEFLY

Carlisle on the crowd, which filled the lower bowl of American Airlines Center: “I think it’s the most excited fan-jam atmosphere we’ve had in my 12 years of being here. The excitement is understandable. People are hyped up about the season. It’s great to see.” … The Mavericks spent about an hour on the AAC practice floor going through various drills and workouts before hitting the floor for the scrimmage in front of the fans … Kristaps Porzingis on the open scrimmage: “There are a lot of people that can’t afford tickets to go to a real game. They come to a scrimmage like this and they still have a chance to say hi to the players and take a picture. It’s good for everybody. We’re humans also It’s really awesome to see fans being so happy and so excited about this kind of practice.” Added Carlisle: “The game was entertaining. A lot of scoring. It’s a pretty good microcosm of today’s NBA game. A lot of skill. A lot of guys who can shoot it and drive it. And it’s hard to defend.” That may have been a diplomatic way of saying that defense was optional in the scrimmage.

Twitter: @ESefko

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