mavs overachieving hits injury roadblock

[rollie mass]

deron williams goes down with hip contusion and they lose to hawks-that rondo deal starting to look better-those hip pointers can take awhile

[The One]

I hear ya Rollie but this team is so resilient.

No DeAndre...no problem.

No Dirk...no problem.

No Deron...no problem (I predict).

Carlisle is a very good coach.

I think for the Mavs to really start sinking...they have to lose TWO starters for a period of time.

[KeepRondo]

I think their remaining schedule is going to be a bigger problem for them.

[sofutomygaha]

No idea what to expect, but I'm starting to think Zaza is the real key (and he's indestructible). We'll see, though

[Big333223]

Carlisle is the key. He's just one of the 5 best coaches in the league, easily and he makes it work with whoever he's got.

In spite of that, I still feel confident that as the season wears on, the players will start to break down more (as the OP points out, we're already seeing it) and Dallas will slip down to somewhere in the 7-10 range of the West.

[chilidawg]

They're only two games in the loss column ahead of Utah, the number 9 team.  Still hope they end up a late lottery team.

[Yenohb]

Portland(4 straight wins) and Utah(3 straight wins) are keeping our hopes up.

[mgent]

Carlisle is the key. He's just one of the 5 best coaches in the league, easily and he makes it work with whoever he's got.

In spite of that, I still feel confident that as the season wears on, the players will start to break down more (as the OP points out, we're already seeing it) and Dallas will slip down to somewhere in the 7-10 range of the West.

Yup, top 3.

Dirk is arguably my favorite player in the league, and I've always been a huge Dallas/Cuban fan, especially in the past 6-7 years.  I find it funny how they ended up with all these misfits, but Carlisle is making it work.  If you told Dallas fans ~3 years ago this would be their roster, they'd probably have collective heart-attacks.

Only guy I'm really a fan of is Parsons, but always rooting for Dirk.  He deserves another ring.  Hard for me to root against the Mavs, but God I hope they lose.

[slamtheking]

They're only two games in the loss column ahead of Utah, the number 9 team.  Still hope they end up a late lottery team.

I originally pegged Dallas for finishing with the 8-10th slot in the lottery based on their offseason but they've definitely exceeded my expectations.  I also think the inexplicable decline of the Western conference is helping them but I can't see anyone other than possibly Houston slipping by them in the standings to push Dallas to #7 seed in the playoffs.  Dirk and Parsons would both have to go down for an extended stretch for them to fall farther IMHO

[mef730]

Are they close enough to the top that they'd (over)pay for a point guard? I don't think they are but, if they think so, I know a team who has an extra or two...

Mike

[Moranis]

Are they close enough to the top that they'd (over)pay for a point guard? I don't think they are but, if they think so, I know a team who has an extra or two...

Mike

Teague makes a lot of sense there both this year and long term.  Not sure they have the assets to get him from Atlanta though.

[wdleehi]

I think the only way that team is derailed from the playoffs is if they lose Dirk.