3 Western Conference NBA teams to watch in the final stretch

1. Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have battled a slow start, injuries, COVID absences and an overall malaise over much of the first half of the season, but like the Denver Nuggets, they’re putting it all together as the season has progressed.

They’re just seventh in the West with a 25-21 record, but they’re 6-4 in their last 10 games and moving back up the conference rankings little by little. A big part of this success is Luka Doncic, their own MVP candidate.

Mind you, Doncic has too much ground to make up in any MVP chase this year, but he’ll win one or more down the road most likely. On the season he’s averaging 28.7 points, 8.9 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game on shooting splits of .488/.377/.744, and in the last 20 games he’s been producing at a blistering level. Over this 20-game stretch, he’s averaging 30.3 points while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.

He’s been phenomenal and remains the biggest reason to watch this team. Luka Doncic is also the biggest reason the Mavs have a legitimate shot at being a team that makes some noise in the playoffs, wherever they end up in the standings.