Dallas Mavericks: 5 post All-Star break predictions

Dallas Mavericks are currently enjoying their All-Star break. They play again on Feb. 21. Here are five predictions for the remainder of the regular season.

The Dallas Mavericks entered the All-Star break with 33 wins and sitting seventh in the Western Conference. Dallas has 27 games left in their regular season. They are 8.5 games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers who currently sit ninth in the West. The Mavs will be back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The stretch run of the season will determine their seed. The Mavericks are five games behind the Denver Nuggets who currently sit second. They are just 4.5 up on the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, though. A hot run could see them have homecourt in the first round. Cooling off may force them to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to kick off the playoffs.

There are no sure things. Some view the post All-Star break period as half the season, but it is significantly less. The NBA has an 82 game schedule. Dallas played 55 games before the break. The post All-Star period can create some small sample size flukes. Teams that are lottery-bound also begin to rest players in hopes of increasing their odds at the top pick.

There will be plenty of wild and unexpected things that happen down the stretch. Some players will come out of nowhere and produce incredible numbers. Others will inevitably hit a cold spell and shoot poorly.

Here are five predictions for the Dallas Mavericks and why they will occur over the final 27 games of the regular season.

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