NBA Power Rankings: Mavs Streak Ends, But Does Dallas Slide?

The Dallas Mavericks saw their seven-game win streak snapped this week. Where does that put them in this week's power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Jan 9, 2023

The Dallas Mavericks are officially at the halfway mark in their season, winning 23 of their first 41 games.

Their record so far is good enough to put the Mavs in fourth place in the Western Conference, just four games back of the first-place Denver Nuggets.

Their efforts this week, where the Mavs went 2-2, were enough to keep them at the No. 9 spot in Sports Illustrated's power rankings.

"A blowout loss at home ended the Mavericks’ season-long, seven-game winning streak," SI writes. "Boston decimated Dallas by nearly 30 points at American Airlines Center and Luka Dončić, the league’s leading scorer, finished with just 23 points. The Mavs bounced back a few nights later against the Pelicans with a 10-point victory at home but they lost to the Thunder on the road without Dončić (ankle) for the second game of a back-to-back Sunday."

Dončić's absence in the loss against an inferior Oklahoma City Thunder team once again shows how valuable he is to the team. The Mavs proved that they have potential to show that same spark they did a year ago with Dončić, but now it's about returning to that.

Dallas has a chance to return to its winning ways this week on a four-game road trip against the LA Clippers (Tue.), Los Angeles Lakers (Thu.) and Portland Trail Blazers (Sat & Sun.).

You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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Published Jan 9, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.