The Dallas Mavericks are 36-19, which is the 7th best record in the NBA this season. But they’re just 4-6 in their division, and a modest 18-14 against other Western conference teams. In other words, the Eastern conference has provided a nice assist to their win-loss record. Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting:
Key numbers for the Mavericks at the All-Star break include 3-12, their record against the other seven playoff teams in the Western Conference.
For those who don’t think that’s important because the Mavericks went 3-10 after Jan. 1 in 2011 against the other West playoff teams, then marched through the postseason to the NBA title, remember that lightning has a difficult time striking twice in the same place.
So as the Mavericks look at their state of the union, they know the reality of their situation. They can’t assume that things will change against the best teams in the West when the stakes rise.
They need to prove it.
“You’d probably take it, but we’re not happy with it, which I think is a good sign,” Chandler Parsons said of the Mavericks’ 36-19 record at the break. “We’re not content with where we are right now. We want to be better. We want to be a top-tier team, and to do that, we have to start beating these elite teams.”
