The Mavericks recovered from that 9in12 stretch with wins over the lowly Bobcats and Wizards and also with a quality win against the Spurs, who were on a back-to-back, but considering the Mavs missed Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood and Delonte West, it was pretty convincing. Rodrigue Beaubois is on a roll lately and so is Dirk Nowitzki, while the Matrix will miss tonights game as well as he will go through more tests on his sore knee in Dallas.
Do the analysts buy the current winning streak? Here is your overview:
NBA.com - John Schuhmann: 15th
With a spark from Rodrigue Beaubois (26-for-44 in the last four games), the Mavs' offense came alive last week. Starting for Shawn Marion, Beaubois was 5-for-6 from mid-range in Saturday's big win over the Spurs. They're now 6-9 against the other seven West playoff teams and play four of them this week.
Mavericks hope to have Delonte West (finger surgery) back in the next couple of weeks.
SheridanHoops.com - Chris Sheridan: 7th
Yes, this is a generous bump I am giving them after their victory over the Spurs. But Jason Kidd is coming on, Dirk Nowitzki is playing with passion and aplomb (and consistency: 27-27-27 in last 3 games), and this is the time of year when I start to value veteran teams over their younger brethren who aren’t seasoned enough to save their enthusiasm for the stretch run and the postseason. Schedule will test them: Next 9 vs. playoff teams, including back-to-back at Miami and Orlando.
ProBasketballTalk - Kurt Helin: 10th
The won three in a row last week, including beating the Spurs, and they have gotten a nice little bump from Rodrigue Beaubois. But they feel like the Hawks — they don’t scare you in the playoffs.
Dallas had a bounceback week, but victories over the Wizards and Bobcats aren't exactly proof of a rise from the dead. Defending champ or not, this is the team every Western contender should want in the first round. It's like the 2007 Heat.
The Mavs lost just 13 regular-season road games in 2010-11 and only four more in the playoffs. This season? They've lost seven straight roadies for their longest such drought since Nowitzki was a rookie in the lockout-shortened 1999 season. It's Dallas' biggest issue these days next to getting healthy.
ESPN - John Holinger's Metric: 15th
Teamrankings.com - Power Ratings: 13th
HoopsStats.com - Efficiency Differential: 7th
MavsMoneyball - j0Shi's Schedule Adjusted Efficiencies: 13th