DALLAS -- The Mavericks’ starting five will make its debut as a full unit in Friday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“We’re going to play our normal group Friday and we’ll go from there,” coach Rick Carlisle said.

It is a certainty that Dirk Nowitzki will not play Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. Nowitzki, who is entering his 17th season, has said that he will not play both ends of back-to-backs during the preseason.

It’d make sense for the Mavs to rest other veterans, such as center Tyson Chandler, shooting guard Monta Ellis and point guards Jameer Nelson and Devin Harris, against the Pacers as well.

For now, the focus is on the starting five building some chemistry after minor injuries to Nowitzki (hip) and Ellis (knee) have prevented the starters from all being on the floor together for game action.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how it works in a game,” Nowitzki said. “We put in a lot of new sets here the last couple of days, so I think it’s going to take a few reps and a few games to get everybody on the same page. But, yeah, it should be a fun game.”