NBA Power Rankings: Will the Warriors ever lose again?

79. Things are not great deep in the heart of Texas. Dirk Nowitzki’s achilles isn’t showing any signs of recovering quickly enough to help turn this season around. While many analysts and pundits have championed the 2017 NBA Draft class as having the potential to be one of the best in recent years, Mark Cuban seemingly disagrees and has stated that the team is not tanking. The Mavericks have been a model of consistency during the 2000’s, but it seems like their time as a guaranteed 40-50 win team is coming to a close in 2016. Harrison “Max Contract” Barnes has looked good enough in Nowitzki’s absence and if he can prove that this current stretch of 20-plus point games is the norm–more so than something that is necessitated due to Dallas having no one else to turn to–than Cuban and the Mavericks could right the ship around if they hit on the right lottery pick (HINT: Markelle Fultz) and get another, healthy, year from their German superstar forward. However, Rick Carlisle, aka the evil basketball genius, is still on the sidelines and I would never bet against him turning this latest collection of Mavericks into a playoff contender this year.. 3-13. Previous: . Dallas Mavericks. 30. team