NBA Power Rankings: Mavs 'Wheels Fell Off' vs. Bulls, But Does Dallas Improve?

The Dallas Mavericks' strong week was spoiled after a blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls. Where does that place them in this week's power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Dec 12, 2022

The Dallas Mavericks are recovering from a 144-115 blowout loss Saturday against the Chicago Bulls on the road.

The loss capped off a 2-2 stretch where the team beat the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets early in the week and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and Bulls.

In Sports Illustrated's latest power rankings, the wins outweighed the losses as the Mavs jumped up two spots from No. 10 to 8.

"As expected, the wheels fell off for the Mavericks without Luka Dončić," SI writes. "Dallas lost by 29 in Chicago on Saturday to drop to 0–2 without him this season. He led the team to wins against the Suns and Nuggets earlier in the week and his 33-point effort against the Bucks ended with a one-point loss in the final seconds of the game. The Mavs haven’t strayed far from .500 this year, though they have three consecutive games ahead at home, where they’ve fared much better than on the road thus far."

Dončić's absence from Saturday night's game to rest has been taken into consideration for these rankings. The team is far different when he plays vs. when he sits and is simply not a contender without him.

Luckily for the Mavs, Dončić looks to return Monday when the team hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team also has games this week against the Cleveland Cavaliers (Wed. at home, Sat. on road) and Portland Trail Blazers (Fri. at home)

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Published Dec 12, 2022

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.