OKC Thunder: Dissecting 16 playoff seeds and 4 WC team records

Dallas Mavericks: 

• 67 games played (40-27)
• Record versus seeded teams: 32 occasions (15-17)
• Record versus lottery teams: 35 occasions (25-10).
• Home record (19-15)
• Road record: (21-12)
• Back to back sets: 12 played (14-10)
  • one set with both teams seeded (1-1)
  • six with one seed/one lottery seed (6-6)
  • five with both teams in the lottery (7-3)

Dallas has played the most games to date of the 16 playoff seeds and four bubble teams. They own one of the better road records but struggle closing out games.

Luka Doncic was dealing with a thumb injury just prior to the suspension so the hiatus was positive for him.

Although the superstar duo was finding a rhythm and Porzingis looked much closer to the player he was prior to injury the rest was also beneficial for him given the quantity of games the Mavericks had played.

Dallas should be among the clubs desirous of extra games that count toward the total occurring especially since they align with the Clippers. Although they have more size than LA this is not a first-round match any club would desire.

The Mavericks sat in seventh in the West and 13th overall entering the hiatus. They are in a virtual three-way tie with the Pacers and 76ers so extra games could move them up to 11th. They trail the Thunder and Rockets by 1.5 games and the Heat by two. The issue for Dallas is they’ve played more games than their counterparts so they would need some help to move up.