Dallas Mavericks continue hot play but fail to move up in Week 22 power rankings

The Dallas Mavericks have the second-best record in the NBA since the calendar flipped to 2022. Superstar Luka Doncic is playing the best basketball of his career as he slowly works his way back into the MVP and first-team All-NBA conversations. The Mavs are 25-8 since Jan. 1, including winning seven of their last eight.

Their latest win was an impressive comeback to defeat the Celtics in Boston. Dallas scored just 38 first-half points before erupting for 38 in the third quarter to get back in the game. The Mavericks closed the game out with defense as they continued their impressive clutch play in 2022.

Dallas keeps winning, but they failed to move up in this week’s power rankings. Here is a look at three different sets before taking a look at why the Mavs failed to move up, despite playing their best basketball of the season.

Dallas Mavericks continue hot play but fail to move up in weekly power rankings

The Mavs slipped from sixth to seven in The Athletic's power rankings this week, which dropped on March 14. They sat eight in both ESPN’s rankings and Bleacher Report’s set.

Dallas is in the top ten but only moved up on ESPN’s list. The Mavericks are playing like an elite team, but the competition across the league is stiff. Phoenix has the best record in the league by far. The Heat, Grizzlies, and Warriors all have better records than the Mavs with the next group tightly packed. Dallas is the hottest team of that group after defeating the Celtics on Sunday afternoon, and they have proved to be among the league’s elite.

Can the Dallas Mavericks crack the top five next week? They play three difficult road games against teams competing for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. Will three victories be enough to push Dallas into the top five in the Week 23 power rankings?

No team wants to face the Mavericks in the postseason. Expect their hot play to continue down the stretch as they look to move into fourth in the Western Conference. Stay tuned because the best is still yet to come from Luka Doncic and the Mavs.