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The Mavericks may have taken some hits following their losses to Miami and Portland, but after an impressive comeback against the Kings, a record-setting margin of victory over the Sixers, and a season-high 131-point outing against the Timberwolves, Dallas is climbing the rankings.
As always, these rankings do not include last night's game, and to see the full rankings for any of these sites, just click on "what they said."
The consensus seems to be somewhere between eighth and 10th (with everyone looking forward to Chandler Parsons' return to Houston on Saturday), but that seems low for a team with by far the league's best offense. What do you think? Is the Mavs' poor defense rightly dragging them down? Or is everyone sleeping on Dallas? Let us know in the comments!
SB Nation
This Week: 8 Last Week: 12
The Mavericks bounced back from a loss to the Heat, picking up a nice win against the shockingly-good Sacramento Kings. Yes, their other two wins were against the 76ers and [Timberwolves], but they took care of business, particularly against Philadelphia. That 53-point victory was something to behold.
Dallas still has the league's best offensive rating (115 points per 100 possesions) and now has the second-best net rating (11.4) in the NBA. All this despite Chandler Parsons struggling.
Yahoo! Sports
This Week: 8 Last Week: 13
First-year Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons, who has been critical of the Rockets, returns to Houston on Saturday to face the Rockets for the first time.
CBS Sports
This Week: 9 Last Week: 10
The offense looks like what I figured, the best in the league. But the defense is not as good as numbers indicate. This team should be further along in terms of defense and toughness. But there's time for this team to be a contender.
ESPN
This Week: 10 Last Week: 13
The routs of Philly and Sota that followed Dallas' big comeback against Sacramento were such a layup drill that the Mavs best not dwell on how good the end results look. They're still 0-3 against playoff teams from last season ... with the first official Parsons Bowl looming Saturday night in Houston.
Sports Illustrated
This Week: 8 Last Week: 13
Six of the Mavericks' 10 minutes leaders weren't on the roster last season, yet the offense looks like the most cohesive unit in the league, averaging an NBA-best 115 points per 100 possessions. Even more impressive: Dallas is doing all of this while Dirk Nowitzki is playing his fewest minutes (27.7) since his rookie season in 1998-99.