Dallas Mavericks: 5 players on the edge of the playoff rotation

Dallas Mavericks: 5 players on the fringes of the playoff rotation

The Dallas Mavericks will be playing basketball again by the end of July. The NBA set its return plan. They will be playing in Orlando starting with eight regular season games for each of the 22 teams that were invited. That virtually locks up the Mavs playoff spot. They need just two wins to guarantee at least the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

At worst, Dallas would be in a play-in for the eighth and final spot. The Mavericks would only have to win one of two games to advance to the traditional playoffs. That is nearly impossible as the Mavs will win more than two games in Orlando.

They currently sit seventh, but there is a lot of room to move up. Dallas is only 2.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz. They have a chance to move into the top five and avoid facing a difficult first round matchup. Fans can read more about how far the Mavericks could move up in Orlando here.

The Mavericks will have eight games to make some important decisions too. Teams usually shrink their rotations in the playoffs. Which players could be on the outside looking in for postseason minutes? The Mavericks will play the matchups. That could change things, but the goal is to make it out of the first round.

Despite their regular season performance, these players are most likely to lose out on minutes in the playoffs. Plus, why they are in this position.

Next: Jackson, Barea, and Cauley-Stein