Mavericks Projected To Play In-State Rival in Playoffs

The battle for I-45 in the playoffs could be fun to watch

Oct 31, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) controls the ball as Dallas Mavericks guard Quentin Grimes (5) defends during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

While the NBA season is just a month in, it's never too early to start thinking about the playoffs. The goal for most teams is to win a championship, and it doesn't happen without making the playoffs first. As we saw with the Dallas Mavericks last season, anything can happen once you're in the playoffs.

Dallas has gotten off to a shaky start this season, sitting at 8-7 entering Friday after a three-game winning streak. That puts them 9th in the current Western Conference standings, but one publication believes the Mavs will end up much higher than that.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report recently predicted what the NBA playoffs will look like after just a month of games, and has the Mavericks as a five-seed facing their in-state rival Houston Rockets.

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"Following an embarrassing loss to the bottom-feeding Utah Jazz, Dallas has won three in a row and should start climbing the West standings," Swartz said of the Mavs. "Luka Dončić hasn't looked like himself yet while battling a knee issue (43.5 percent shooting overall, 32.4 percent from three) and role players such as P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall haven't shot the ball well yet, either. Dallas is going to need a healthy Dončić to make another deep playoff run and have any hope of a top seed in the West."

The Houston Rockets, who sit at 11-5 entering Friday, are currently the West's third seed and just one game back from the top-seeded Golden State Warriors.

"One of the season's best surprises thus far, the Rockets are showing us that their hot end to 2023-24 was no fluke," Swartz said of Houston. "The offense still has a lot of mouths to feed with a roster full of young talent, although Houston's defense has been special (105.2 rating, 3rd overall) behind the play of Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, and others. Not all of the team's past first-round picks will stay here and thrive, and this will be a franchise to watch when the next wave of All-Stars inevitably hits the trade market. For now, though, this is a playoff team that has a real shot at securing home-court advantage in the first round."

Dallas and Houston last matched up in the postseason during the 2015 first round, a.k.a. the infamous Rajon Rondo series. Houston won that series in five games with budding star James Harden, while Dallas left that series wondering why they ever traded for Rondo.

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