Dallas Mavericks predicted to finish 2021-2022 season 5th in West by ESPN

The Dallas Mavericks failed to make the massive splash in free agency fans were hoping for this offseason. They could not land a star player, but they did add Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown to improve their wing depth and floor spacing around superstar Luka Doncic. The Mavs got better, but it was not enough to put them into title contention.

They may not be done making moves. Rumors suggest Dallas is close to signing Frank Ntilikina, and they may not stop there. The Mavericks are hungry to win and could make other additions before the trade deadline.

ESPN’s expert panel predicted the Western Conference standings (subscription required) for the 2021-2022 season. Let us take a look at where the Mavs landed before examining if they got it right.

Dallas Mavericks predicted to finish fifth in Western Conference by ESPN

ESPN had Dallas finishing with a 48-34 regular-season record to sit fifth in the Western Conference. They had an identical record as Golden State, but the Mavericks took the tiebreaker. Dallas finished fifth in the West last season after winning a three-way tiebreaker over the Lakers and Trail Blazers.

ESPN also predicted the Mavs to win the Southwest Division for the second straight year and to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

They did a fantastic job with their predictions. The Mavericks should finish somewhere between 45 and 50 wins if the team stays healthy, but it could change quickly if Luka Doncic takes another step forward. I predicted every game of the regular season after the schedule was released that had the Mavs at the high end of that projection.

Dallas will not be happy if they finish fifth in the Western Conference. They plan on getting homecourt in the first round of the playoffs as they look to win their first series since taking home the title in 2011. There promises to be plenty of excitement, so stay locked in.