Are the Dallas Mavericks out of the playoffs already? Exploring the team's playoffs chances as things stand
The Dallas Mavericks are on a four-game losing streak after dropping two easy games against the Charlotte Hornets. Despite having two fantastic guards in Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, the Mavs simply can't win.
These results have resulted in them completely falling out of the playoff picture. As of March 27, the Mavericks are 36-39, good for the 11th spot in the Western Conference.
The West has been very competitive this season and the Dallas Mavericks are not out of the playoffs already. However, the clock is ticking as they only have seven games left to play in the regular season.
Dallas Mavericks are not out of the playoffs yet
The Mavericks are one game behind both the OKC Thunder and the LA Lakers (37-38). Considering they have seven games left on their schedule, they could move up in the standings and make the playoffs.
However, it is very unlikely that Luka Doncic and his squad will be able to qualify for the playoffs directly. Their losing streak has extended the gap between them and the sixth-placed Golden State Warriors (39-37), who are currently 2.5 games ahead of the Mavs.
FiveThirtyEight gives the Mavericks a 25% chance of making the playoffs. They are projected to finish with a 40-42 record, which means they will likely have to win the play-in tournament.
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The Denver Nuggets (50-24) and the Memphis Grizzlies (47-27) currently sit at the top of the conference and will likely play against play-in tournament winners in the first round.
Both of these teams have been great, and the Dallas Mavericks will have to play incredible basketball to beat either of them.
The Mavs could potentially move all the way up to the fourth spot in the conference. The spot is currently occupied by the Phoenix Suns (39-35), who are 3.5 games ahead of the Mavericks. However, this scenario is very unlikely.
Luka Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Due to this, he will sit out Monday night's matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
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Considering that this is the second game of a back-to-back and that the Dallas Mavericks will be without their best player, it won't be surprising if the Pacers (33-42) end up winning the game.
What makes the current situation even tougher is the fact that the Mavericks were just fine before trading for Kyrie Irving. At the trade deadline, they were fourth in the conference with a 30-26 record.