Mavs Fall In NBA Power Rankings: Silver Lining Amid Despair?

Jaden Hardy provides a bright spot for the Dallas Mavericks despite the team’s recent tumble.

DALLAS - With only two weeks left in the NBA season, the fight for postseason play is hot. Especially in the Western Conference, which has eight teams postering for the final seven seeds of the playoff and play-in tournament. The Dallas Mavericks are one of those eight teams separated by only 3.5 games in the standings.

Dallas has slid to 11th place in the West, despite the Mavs trading for star point guard Kyrie Irving at the deadline. Luka Doncic admitted over the weekend that he had lost some of his joy playing basketball lately due to a number of reasons. The Mavs having lost 13 of their last 19 games might be playing a significant role in how the 24-year-old superstar has been feeling.

The Mavs rank in the No. 20 slot in Sports Illustrated's most recent Power Rankings, falling from the No. 14 spot in the previous list. SI's reasoning behind the ranking:

The performance of rookie guard Jaden Hardy, who looks like a steal as a second-round pick, has been a silver lining during the Mavs' miserable March. Hardy, 20, has averaged 16.4 points with a 60.7 true shooting percentage this month. Scouts have compared Hardy, a speedy 6-foot-4 guard with a smooth 3-point stroke, to Jordan Clarkson and Jordan Poole and project him to be an instant-offense type of sixth man soon.

The continued rise of 20-year-old rookie guard Hardy has definitely been a bright spot. Hardy is fresh off 20 points in 24 minutes off the bench while shooting 8-of-12 from the field in Dallas' win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. 

Can the Mavs get back to their winning ways? The odds are stacked against them at +180 to make the playoffs. Dallas still has a shot at making the Play-In Tournament and from there... It's the wild west. The top three seeds are basically locked up by the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings while the rest fight for a chance. 

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