Dallas Mavericks: Looking Ahead To The Playoffs

Let’s get one thing straight before we begin. There are no easy matchups in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks know this, so as a result, coming out of the West this year is all going to be about peaking at the right time.

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In that sense, you don’t necessarily want to be playing your best basketball of the season just as April approaches, but it might not be a bad idea to start picking up some momentum soon. The Mavericks are 5-5 for their last 10 games, having let some games slip to teams they could potentially face off with through the duration of the post-season.

In the month of March, Dallas have faced off against a lot of the league’s best teams, and come out worse for wear on quite a few occasions. The Mavs have dropped games to the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers since this calendar month began.

That isn’t necessarily a major concern as regular-season wins against teams of that caliber wouldn’t have necessarily been guaranteed to translate to postseason success anyway, but it’s only due diligence for us to look a little bit closer at some of those games in preparation for what’s to come.

With only nine games remaining, it now seems almost certain that Dallas are going to enter the NBA Playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Mavericks have a magic number of four to lock that spot down as a very minimum, and with Golden State having clinched the top spot, that seems like a good idea as the eighth seed isn’t the most appealing place to be.

So if that’s where Dallas is likely to finish, who can we expect to see as their opponent?

Right now, there’s a battle ongoing for the No. 2 seed, and with the current shape of the playoff standings, it seems like one that’ll be hotly contested.

The two teams involved in that race are the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, and with the “reward” for finishing third being a first-round series with the defending champions, the recently improved San Antonio Spurs, it’s a race worth watching.

The gap between the two teams couldn’t really be any tighter either, as Houston sits in third only half a game behind Memphis, having played one fewer game.

Dallas hasn’t necessarily excelled in the season series against either team, having lost 3-1 to the Grizzlies, and trailing the Rockets 2-1 with one meeting remaining on April 2.

So, who should Mavericks’ fans be hoping for? Well, it really is a case of picking your poison.

The Grizzlies are an incredibly well-rounded group, stacked with talent, who will beat you as a collective. On the other hand, even though the Rockets have improved their depth considerably with new additions as the season has gone on, their game is still going to be dominated by James Harden and his exceptional talents.

I suppose, what’s most important for Dallas to consider is how they can make a real deep run in the playoffs. One thing that’s certain is if that is to become a reality, the Mavericks need Dirk Nowitzki to be feeling 100 percent and firing on all cylinders.

This is where one matchup starts to seem slightly more favorable than the other. If Dallas finds itself matched up with Memphis, it would result in Dirk playing extended periods of time matched up against the highly physical Zach Randolph. In a close series, that could really start to grate and drain anybody, and have a significant impact on just how much they have left in the tank.

That’s showing no disrespect to Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Smith or Terrence Jones, but there’s no question that Dirk wouldn’t have to bang quite as hard in a series with the Rockets.

Add into the mix any potential inside knowledge Chandler Parsons has from his time in Houston, and the Rockets seem to be the slightly more favorable option.

No matter who it ultimately is, one thing is for sure, the Dallas Mavericks are going to have to be at their very best to advance.

Next: Is Chandler Parsons The Key to Dallas' Success?

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