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The Rankings
Some observations
- An indication of just how tough the West is and will continue to be: The Mavericks beat the Trail Blazers and Pacers, and yet only moved up about a spot overall. Of course, that includes a loss to the Nuggets, so there could be multiple issues at play there. Still, they do keep hanging in there...
- KEEP MOVING UP LAKERS YOU CAN DO IT.
- People really really don't know what to do with the Knicks. Which seems appropriate considering the Knicks don't know what to do with the Knicks.
- The Warriors and Trail Blazers are interesting teams this week as well. They have pretty consistently been in those "Top 1-7" and have now started to in some cases move down past that (the Warriors) and completely moved past that (Trail Blazers). Might the Mavs have a little wiggle room if the Blaz
Quotables
SB Nation:
After a three-game losing streak, including a loss to the Nuggets, it was the Mavs who looked like they were in trouble of falling out of the playoff picture. Dallas has momentarily halted their slide, beating Portland and Indiana in consecutive games.
NBA.com:
After losing three straight, the Mavs recovered to beat the Blazers and Pacers over the weekend and stay ahead of Memphis and Phoenix. With only three back-to-backs remaining (one this week), they have a schedule advantage over both. The Devin Harris signing is finally paying off. Playing mostly alongside Monta Ellis, he had 32 points on 10-for-15 shooting and was a plus-40 in the two wins.
CBS Sports:
They keep hinting at a collapse, yet continue racking up wins. They keep just sliding into a seat during playoff spot musical chairs.
Sports Illustrated:
Coach Rick Carlisle tends to get the most out of his players. On Sunday, he got a season-high 20 points from a resurgent Devin Harris in a big win over Indiana, highlighting the Mavs' 41-4 scoring advantage off the bench.