Mavericks' playoff dreams somehow just skyrocketed thanks to Kevin Durant

Noah Weber

Dallas Mavericks, Kevin Durant, Spencer Dinwiddie / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks are still in a prime position to make the Play-In Tournament, even after going through some of the wildest injury luck in NBA history, and the ball is in their court to potentially secure a home postseason game.

As things currently stand, Dallas is 37-39 on the season, and they hold a 0.5 game lead over the Sacramento Kings for the No. 9 seed, and the Phoenix Suns are 2.0 games behind Dallas and are currently the No. 11 seed. If the Mavericks can take care of business over their last six games of the regular season, they should be able to finish in front of both of these teams, with the Suns being the most likely team to miss the playoffs of these teams.

It has looked like destiny for weeks that the Mavs would finish in front of Phoenix in the standings since the Suns' schedule has been so hard, but an uncontrollable factor with Kevin Durant just boosted Dallas' playoff chances even more. It seemed like the Mavericks were going to have a tough battle to keep their positioning in the standings, and now they control their own destiny in an unexpected way.

Durant's injury just gave the Mavericks a massive play-in boost

On Sunday night, Durant sprained his left ankle against the Houston Rockets, and he could end up missing the remainder of the regular season. This is a major blow to the Suns, who are brawling with the Mavericks for one of the final spots in the play-in, and they're in a major uphill battle without one of their stars.

Durant potentially missing the rest of the regular season is huge for the Mavericks, as it would have to be an all-time meltdown for Phoenix to pass Dallas in the standings. As long as the Mavs don't let both the Kings and Suns pass them in the standings, they will have a guaranteed spot in the play-in, which is a much more optimistic outcome than what looked like was going to happen a few weeks ago.

The Mavericks were considering keeping Anthony Davis out for the remainder of the regular season, even though he was eager to come back, which would practically be tanking, and now they're in a prime position to secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament.

Regardless of Dallas' chances to escape the play-in, getting to see the new-look squad in a playoff environment is a positive, and seeing what they have with their big man trio of Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford is going to be a sight to see. Even though they won't be without Kyrie Irving as he is out with a torn ACL, the team should almost be at full strength, giving fans a good look at this team's potential for the beginning of next season.

If Durant's injury impacts the Suns as much as it looks like it will, Dallas will get what they wished for, which is a puncher's chance of making the playoffs and a look at their new core. Whether that was the right decision or not is a whole different conversation.

Noah Weber

Noah Weber is the Site Expert for The Smoking Cuban, covering the Dallas Mavericks as a credentialed media member since the 2022-23 season. With a Bachelor of Science in Sports Media from Oklahoma State University, Noah has worked in sports journalism since 2019. While he's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State Cowboys, he has now established himself as a go-to voice for Mavericks coverage. Noah's expertise includes in-depth game analysis, social media content creation, and offering unique perspectives through his reporting. His work has been featured on major platforms such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Overtime. During his time at Oklahoma State, Noah won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association Awards for a show he co-produced. Outside of covering the Mavs, Noah enjoys working out, playing basketball and Spikeball, and spending quality time with friends and family.