Happy holiday week power rankings! While the Mavericks have been holding steady most weeks in recent weeks in most national rankings, this week (with one exception) we see a slight uptick, thanks to the unexpected emergence of J.J. Barea. Rankers also took note of Dirk Nowitzki passing Shaq to become number 6 on the all-time scoring list, and a few noted the balanced attack that the team seems to be developing as Parsons and Matthews continue to build on their injury recoveries. I imagine that win over a good Bulls team didn't hurt much either.
As a reminder, these ranks don't include last night's win over the Bucks. And as always, you can read the full ranks for any site by clicking "what they said." Let us know what you think of their thoughts and ranks in the comments!
ESPN
This week: 11 Last week: 14
Quite a week on the Dallas sports scene amid some seriously scary weather. Dirk Nowitzki and little J.J. Barea enjoyed milestones -- though Dirk's was slightly more historic -- and one of our mentors wrote his final newspaper column after an unparalleled career spanning five decades. Thanks for all you taught us, Mister Randy!
CBS Sports
This week: 15 Last week: 13
Their offensive formula is so disciplined. Don't turn the ball over (third in turnover percentage), shoot a lot of 3s (fourth in 3-point rate), make a lot of shots (12th in effective field-goal percentage).
NBA.com
This week: 14 Last week: 13
The Mavs are getting something out of Raymond Felton this season, Chandler Parsons had two of his best games of the season last week, and JaVale McGee even had a productive 18 minutes in Friday's win over the Grizzlies. But the Mavs are just 6-8 over the last month and, after Wednesday's 26-point loss in Indiana, 4-5 against the opposite conference, with five of their next six games against the East.
Sports Illustrated
This week: 13 Last week: 14
The holidays were kind to J.J. Barea, who shot a combined 12-of-15 from three and scored 58 points in close wins over the Nets and Bulls. Deron Williams can take his time coming back.
USA Today
This week: 11 Last week: 11
J.J Barea has been on fire of late
NBC Sports
This week: 11 Last week: 13
Deron Williams is out injured and in his place J.J. Barea is putting on a show -- 32 points against Brooklyn, 26 against Chicago (both games Mavs' wins). Dirk Nowitzki passed Shaq on the All-Time scoring list, just a reminder that he will go down as the greatest shooting big man in NBA history.