Mavs Slide in Power Rankings; Will Doncic, Irving Figure It Out?
In this story:
DALLAS - It's been an eventful week in the NBA. There is a new team on top, with the Milwaukee Bucks usurping the Boston Celtics for the best record. Los Angeles Lakers star Lebron James is missing games with a foot injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season. Plus, Giannis Antetokounmpo poked a little fun at Kevin Durant for joining super teams.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, there is a tight race for playoff positioning while other teams are lottery bound. The Dallas Mavericks are in the fight to avoid the purgatory of the Play-In Tournament. Dallas has slid to seventh-place in the Western Conference standings, despite Luka Doncic putting up MVP-caliber numbers and the Mavs trading for star point guard Kyrie Irving at the deadline.
The Mavs rank in the No. 12 slot in Sports Illustrated's most recent Power Rankings, falling from the No. 9 spot in the previous list. SI's reasoning behind the ranking:
It’s still very early, but the marriage of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving has not gone swimmingly so far. The Mavericks are 1–4 when their All-Star duo shares the court and that one win was against the Spurs, who are in the midst of a free fall. They blew a 27-point lead Sunday against the Lakers, the largest advantage any team has yielded all year. Dallas’s two ball-dominant stars are still learning to share the court with each other, but there are just 20 games remaining in the regular season for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Can the Mavs get back to their winning ways? Next up, Dallas is a 3.5-point favorite against the Philadelphia 76ers in American Airlines Center on Thursday night. A solid defensive performance would help: Since Irving joined the Mavs, Dallas has allowed 118 points per game, ranking 25th in the league.
Follow Bri Amaranthus on Twitter and Instagram
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.
