Before the season I thought they might get in with a 7 or 8 seed, but right now it's looking entirely possible they might miss them. Sitting pretty at the bottom of the west.

And no, I'm not just trying to smack talk, so no need to bump this when the mavs put together a string of wins.

I'm all for them having a lousy season. It's a shortened season so the misery wouldn't be so bad. Get in the lottery and try for a stud draft pick next summer. Sign Howard and DWil in the offseason. If it works out financially, you now have a team that can compete for championships for years to come, especially if the hopeful top draft pick develops into a superstar to play next to 2 players in their prime (Howard and Williams) and an aging star in Dirk. Winning last year bought Cuban a season to rework the team to make it competitive for years to come.

Would love it...but they will definitely still goto the playoffs.

Last season started 0-4 right?

No way they miss the playoffs.

Mavs traded their 2012 first round draft pick along with the Tyson Chandler trade exception to the Lakers for Lamar Odom.

I wouldnt bury the Mavs just yet, but time is not their friend right now. They keep saying that they just need time to get acquainted and comfortable with the new players, but in a shortened season that's not a recipe for success.

That being said, they are still the defending champs, so we know what they're capable of doing. But they better hurry and figure it out before they dig too deep a hole

I believe it the pick is protected in 2012.

I'd call this premature especially after beating the mighty Thunder tonight.

You guys remind me of the people predicting Portland to win in Round 1 last year.

No way they miss the playoffs. WC playoff teams, in no order:

Dallas
LA
LA
OKC
Portlandia
SA
Memphis
Minnesota

OKC over Dallas

Miami over OKC

Can anyone give 100 % confirmation on the pick being protected???

TIA

From ESPN LA:

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, so hurt by being included in a three-team trade for Chris Paul that was vetoed by the NBA last week, finally was dealt on Sunday, going to the Dallas Mavericks for an $8.9 million trade exception, as well as a protected first-round pick."

Tap the brakes on Minnesota. They'll be improved with Adelman, but they are not a playoff team

thanks Jass

I think Minni can be a playoff team this year. They're pretty tough.

I agree on Minn. The new skinny K-Love looks like a BEAST!

I third on Minn making playoffs. Two of their losses were closely contested games vs OKC and Miami.

3 of the Mavs first 6 games were against OKC and Miami, the 2 best teams in the NBA IMO. I think there is some valid concern in how badly they were beaten in some of these first 6 games but I have a hard time seeing them missing the playoffs. I'm guessing they wind up as a 4/5 seed. Think OKC wants to see Dallas in the 2nd round?

Now with Randolph out 6-8 weeks, the Grizz have some serious issues. They might find themselves outside of the top 8 this season in the West

Mavs will make the playoffs and be the number 3 or 4 seed. They are going to be fine. Odum will cintribute once he gets used to this offense and realizes his role.

I think the Mavs will be there in the playoffs.

I wouldn't count Dallas out until the season is over. Last February or so (midseason) they looked like they were left for dead.

Then they had that amazing turnaround and went on a big time hot streak. Everyone keeps saying OKC / Miami like there is no point in playing the season. People forget that on a regular basis it is how teams end a season that makes the biggest impact on their success in the playoffs. You see it in every sport. Happened for the Cards, Mavs, and Packers last year.

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Can anyone give 100 % confirmation on the pick being protected???

TIA

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Top 20 protected until 2016, per Bob Sturm.

I think they will be a 5-6 seed.

For the sake of moving this back up, the Mavs are sitting at 9th in the WC right now.

And yes, I expect them to be in the playoffs.

they are 4 games out of first. judging by the way team's are playing, id say the mavs will make it in as a 7 or 8 seed due to more injuries that will happen.

that being said, if the grizzlies, who currently hold the 8th spot, had Arthur and Zbo healthy.....i'd say the Mavs miss the playoffs.

all the teams above them are clearly better.

but they will catch memphis, and someone else (portland, LA, SA) will get hurt and cause the rankings to adjust.

Not sure if I can buy that the Jazz are for real yet.

They have been one of the healthier teams, and that has made a difference.

Mavs are still fine. No worries yet with still such a new team to try and gel and find your rotation. I still think this team has a hangover from winning it. Dirk and Kidd seem very unmotivated to me along with Odum who is a pansy.

Moreover they've had three very winnable games that they've lost in the final seconds. Their record would look a lot better at 11-4 than 8-7.

Simplebay does it again.

Mavs tied for first in SW Division.

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No worries yet with still such a new team to try and gel and find your rotation.

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If I were a Mavs fan I wouldn't have this mindset. Since the schedule is shorter due to the lockout, you don't have unlimited amounts of time to figure it out and establish chemistry with the new players. Time is not on the Mavs side right now.

Tied for 1st in the division and a few snakebites away from being 12-5 or 13-4. Whats that about time not being on their side? Lets not pretend this is a 6-11 team.

What matters is how the Mavs are playing in April, not now. The Mavs defense has looked solid even without Chandler and their offense has still moved the ball well. The outside shooting just hasn't been there, but they've proven they can hit shots before. If the outside shooting still isn't there in April then they won't make any kind of run.

Two teams out of the Houston, Portland, Dallas, San Antonio, LAL, Utah, Memphis, LAC group will not make the playoffs. My guess is Houston and Utah will be out. OKC is the West favorite but the conference is wide open. I don't see much order here, this will come down to matchups. The Mavs could definitely make another run with this team.

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Tied for 1st in the division and a few snakebites away from being 12-5 or 13-4. Whats that about time not being on their side? Lets not pretend this is a 6-11 team.

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Not saying they're a 6-11 team. I'm saying they are tied for first in the division, but they havent exactly been the NBA champs that they were last year. Even though they are tied for first, they're also a few games away from not being in the playoffs since the West is so competitive. A Shorter season means less time to adjust to personnel and less time to pull ahead in the standings. Didn't mean to make you upset. I just call it how I see it. Just my opinion

So what? I'm sure everyone recalls your Rockets and their seed (6th) in the second title year. Not to mention the 8th seed Knicks making the finals the last time there was a work stoppage. With the slimmed down schedule, seeds mean much less this year. In fact, I think most teams see it more as a top 8 pool they need to be in.