Power rankings: The Mavericks are rising thanks to their impressive offense

The rankings this week seem a little counter-intuitive, especially with back-to-back devastating losses fresh on the minds of most of us Mavericks fans. The Mavericks acutally held steady or rose a few spots in the rankings we looked at, which seems to be cause for optimism.

Of course, these rankings don't include that Pacers game, which almost certainly would have caused some re-thinking of things. But they also include a fairly impressive win over the Wizards, a loss to the Rockets that, while disappointing, was a great match-up, and that impressively crazy beatdown of the Lakers.

The Mavs will have a chance to keep their place in these rankings next week if they can right the ship with some impressive wins in the next three games. In the meantime, here's what folks are saying about them. As usual, to see the full rankings for any of these sites, just click on "what they said."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

SB Nation

This Week: 8 Last Week: 8

What they said:

There's the Dallas Mavericks' offense -- and then there's everyone else. Dallas is putting up 5.5 more points per 100 possessions than the second-best offense in the league (Raptors). The Mavericks are on pace to have a historically-good offense.

A) Yes, this will likely go down over time.

B) Still, through the first month of the season the Mavericks' offense has been a juggernaut.

Yahoo! Sports

This Week: 7 Last Week: 8

What they said:

Despite a tough divorce, the Rockets showed class by playing a video tribute of Mavs forward Chandler Parsons during Saturday's game.

CBS Sports

This Week: 7 Last Week: 9

What they said:

The offense is five points better per 100 possessions than the second-best team. There's really no comparison for what they're doing right now. Scoring efficiency is up all over the league, but Dallas is essentially bending the space-time continuum and turning it into buckets right now.

ESPN

This Week: 7 Last Week: 10

What they said:

As explosive as the Mavs have been most nights with that otherworldy offense, they're making a habit of losing in excruciating fashion. The worst of the lot was undoubtedly Saturday night's Parsons Bowl, rallying from 18 down against the Dwight-less Rockets and then throwing it away at the end.

Sports Illustrated

This Week: 6 Last Week: 8

What they said:

How efficient is the Mavericks' league-leading offense? It scores on an NBA-best 47.9 percent of its possessions and turns the ball over on a league-low 9.6 percent, according to Synergy Sports.