NBA Power Rankings Week 5: How good are the Utah Jazz?

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Vivint Smart Home Arena on January 21, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

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79. . 8-8. Previous: 9th. Dallas Mavericks. 16. team

Last Week: Lost to Chicago Bulls 117-101, Lost to Toronto Raptors 116-93, Beat Indiana Pacers 124-112, Beat San Antonio Spurs 122-117, Lost to Houston Rockets 133-108

This Week: 1/25 vs. Denver Nuggets, 1/27 at Utah Jazz, 1/29 at Utah Jazz, 1/30 vs. Phoenix Suns

Right now, the Dallas Mavericks look like nothing more than a two-man team. This week both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis were good whenever they were in the lineup. They beat the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, two of the hottest teams in the league coming into the week.

When the rest of the team was bad, the games stopped being close in the other direction. The Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets are far from world-beaters this season but knocked off the Mavericks with an average margin of victory of 21.3 points per game.

The Mavericks stay unable to guard anyone and are only as good as their two stars are on a night to night basis and often even that is not enough. At this point, figuring out the fix for this team is no easy task.

They were atrocious on defense last year but the offensive output was enough to overcome it en route to a playoff berth. So far this year, they are not on pace to report that feat. Adding additional offensive firepower without adding any defensive stalwarts feels like it would be a miss in terms of the Mavericks taking the next step in title contention.