The team continues to hit new hurdles at each turn, and this month may prove the toughest.
Each week in NBA Power Rankings Watch we visit where the team sits in the national scope, and each week it seems we’re addressing a new obstacle this team is facing. In short order it was a long term Luka Doncic injury, then the suspension for Naji Marshall, now a recovering PJ Washington who departed mid-game in the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to the Houston Rockets.
The crown jewel for this team has been their depth and adaptability this season. But momentum has slowed to halt, and the team is facing their toughest stretch in the schedule to date. Navigating the month of January won’t be for the faint of heart. And yet still, for now, the Mavericks are still a quality team and tough opponent across the league. How they manage this month will tell us plenty, and what their prospects are to end the season.
The Athletic
Rank: 7 (Tier 2: In a Good Place)
Last week: 6
Time Capsule: The locker room paper from Luka Dončić’s 73-point game
Dončić called his career-best 73-point performance from last January a special night, as he made nearly half of his team’s field goals in a 148-point performance for the Mavericks on the road. It was an eventful 2024 for Dončić overall. His Mavericks finally beat the LA Clippers in the postseason, they beat the top-seeded Thunder, and Dončić will be remembered for the smack talk after his isolation stepback 3 over Rudy Gobert in the Western Conference finals almost as much as the shot itself. While Dončić played in his first NBA Finals, he has not had nearly as many moments to begin this season, and it is unclear if he will be able to play in January because of a calf strain.
ESPN
Rank: 7
Last week: 7
The Mavs intend to be conscious of managing Kyrie Irving’s workload during Luka Doncic’s absence due to a left calf strain. Dallas wants to guard against wearing down the 32-year-old Irving, which factored into the decision to sit him in Monday’s road loss in Sacramento with right shoulder soreness. Irving had 35.0 points in 38.5 minutes in a four-day, three-game stretch that started on Dec. 25, when Doncic was injured in the second quarter in a loss against Minnesota. — MacMahon
NBA
Rank: 6
Last week: 5
Luka Dončić is out at least a month with a calf strain and, with a tough schedule ahead, it will be a challenge for the Mavs to remain in the top six in the West.
Three takeaways
Even with a loss in Portland over the weekend, the Mavs are 7-2 in games that Kyrie Irving has played without Dončić. The first loss (in Miami) was in overtime and the second (Saturday) was a rest-disadvantage game. Five of the seven wins have come against teams that are currently over .500 and another (Friday in Phoenix) knocked the Suns out of that group.
They also erased almost all of a 28-point deficit after Dončić was hurt against the Wolves on Christmas, but were unable to complete the comeback. It was a similar story in Portland on Saturday, when the Mavs cut a 21-point deficit down to five, and just couldn’t get the stops they needed. The Mavs have the league’s second-biggest differential between their record in non-clutch games (13-3) and their record in games that were within five in the last five minutes (7-9), and the nine clutch losses are already as many as they had all of last season (23-9).
Dereck Lively II has also missed the last two games and Naji Marshall will be suspended for three more after his altercation with Jusuf Nurkić on Friday. Lively has been critical on the defensive end of the floor and the loss on Saturday was the second time that Dallas allowed the Blazers’ 26th-ranked offense to score more than 120 points per 100 possessions.
The Mavs have two games left on their four-game trip and their visit to Sacramento on Monday will be the start of a stretch where they’re playing eight of 14 against teams that rank in the top 10 offensively.
Bleacher Report
Rank: 8
Last week: 7
A little slide was almost inevitable for a Dallas Mavericks squad without Luka Dončić, and they’re in the middle of it now.
After ending their week with a loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Dallas is now 1-3 during Luka’s current absence. And the schedule isn’t easing up any time soon.
Dallas’ next six games are against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets (twice). There’s only one sub-.500 team in that mix.