Ranking the Mavericks' potential playoff opponents from piece of cake to nightmare

With just eight games remaining this season, the Dallas Mavericks are 45-29 on the year after a win against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Dallas is showing the rest of the league that they are true contenders in the Western Conference, and their defense has turned into a huge strength for this team. P.J. Washington has been elite defensively, and fans should be excited for the playoffs in April.

While there is still plenty of basketball to be played, all signs are pointing to the Mavericks being in the playoffs this year, and at the least, the Play-In Tournament.

Ranking the Mavericks' potential playoff opponents from piece of cake to nightmare

Dallas is showing they are built for the playoffs, but there's no such thing as an easy matchup in the postseason.

Every series will be a battle, no matter who the Mavs play, and it'll be interesting to see how they respond to the adversity of the playoffs. With how close the Western Conference is, the Mavs could play almost any team that is a top-11 seed right now (even though the Play-In Tournament is looking unlikely for Dallas).

Anything can happen over the next few weeks, and fans can't wait to see who Dallas plays. Here we rank all of the Dallas Mavericks' potential playoff opponents from piece of cake to nightmare.

10. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have gone on an insane winning streak recently as they won 11 games in a row and are just two games back from the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Many teams counted the Rockets out after Alperen Sengun went down with an injury, but they have rallied and strung together some wins.

Despite playing great basketball recently, the Rockets are the Dallas Mavericks' easiest possible playoff matchup. The only way that they would play in the first round is likely in the Play-In Tournament, and the Mavs shouldn't fear the Rockets.

Dallas is 2-1 against Houston this year, with their one loss coming in a game that both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving didn't play in.

The Rockets have good guard play with Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks, but Dallas easily has the edge over this young Rockets team. Houston is a completely different team with Sengun on the floor, but as things stand now, the Rockets could be without their best player in the playoffs (if they make it).

The Rockets would likely throw Brooks at Doncic to try to contain him, but Houston's lack of playoff experience and continuity could make things hard for them. Dallas dominated Houston on Sunday night, and if they happen to play the Mavs in the play-in, it wouldn't go well for them.