NBA Standings Update: Mavs Passed By Thunder; Warriors Showdown Looms

DALLAS — With only 10 games remaining for their regular season schedule, the Dallas Mavericks have little margin for error. They hold a 36-36 overall record, which places them eighth in the Western Conference standings. Without question, every game holds significant importance the rest of the way, but the Mavs know they can only control what’s in front of them.

“For us it’s just matter of taking care of what’s in front of us,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said when asked if he watches the standings. “We can’t worry about the scoreboard watching of who’s playing who. We can only focus on Memphis, and then whenever the next game is and that’s our next opponent, then that’s who we have to focus on.

“Just understanding, as someone just brought up, the standings are close. Two-game swings. If you win one you can be in the eighth spot and finally wake up in the sixth spot. But if you can take care of business and you can continue to keep winning, you never know how high you will finish. We can’t hope for someone else to beat someone because it tends to go the other way.”

Whether the Mavs are keeping a close eye on the standings or not, the changes will occur regardless. It certainly hasn't calmed, either. The rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder have surged as of late, using an 8-2 record in their previous 10 games to to overtake the Mavs for seventh.

The prior shortcomings the Mavs have experienced against the Thunder, in particular, have proven problematic, given that Oklahoma City holds the tie-breaker. Dallas inexplicably lost a 16-point lead to the Thunder with around four minutes remaining in regulation early in the season. Doncic later sat out the second night of a back-to-back against them in a loss, too.

The Mavs have a narrow margin for error at the moment. They lead the ninth-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves and tenth-ranked Utah Jazz by just a a half game. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans are only a game back as they sit on the outside looking in of the play-in picture.

At the same time, the Mavs aren't all that far off from moving up in the standings, either. They trail the fourth-ranked Phoenix Suns by 2.5 games, which means there is still somewhat of an outlook to even gain homecourt advantage if mostly everything went their way down the stretch.

The LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors have underwhelmed as of late, and Paul George's injury during a Tuesday night loss to the Thunder only adds further complications to their outlook. Both teams hold narrow advantages over the Mavs in the standings at the moment.

Right now, the Mavs can only control what's in front of them, which is a matchup against the Warriors on Wednesday. Managing to achieve a victory would push Dallas up in the standings, while solidifying a much-needed tie-breaker over Golden State.

“Hopefully, they’ll have troubles playing against us on the road,” center Christian Wood said. “Hopefully, we don’t be the ones that they turn that leaf around.

“So just stay focused, try and come back and practice tomorrow, watch film, talk to each other and just stay together, stay poised.”

The Mavs have one of the easier remaining schedules in the NBA, but the inability to have both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in the lineup together has added complications in being able to control their own destiny.

Doncic should be back in the lineup as early as Wednesday's game against the Warriors. However, Irving re-aggravated his toe injury that has kept him designated as questionable on the injury report. It remains to be seen if Irving will be able to play, or if he'll be sidelined for a short period.

There appears to be a potential scenario where the Mavs simply prove unable to stay healthy and enter the offseason ahead of Irving's impending free agency without having the opportunity to fully realize their potential. The time to build chemistry and get healthy is running out, but regardless, it wouldn't be impossible to achieve, either.

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