Hello Celebritys

There have been seven winning streaks of at least eight games or more in the NBA this season including the Mavs current eight game streak. Dallas has beaten some quality opponents during this tear through the league, so I wanted to see how it compared to the others. Here is what I found…

Cleveland Cavaliers- Longest winning streak: 13 games

Jan 16- Feb. 11: @LAC, v. TOR, v. LAL, v. OKC, @MIA, v. MIN, @IND, v. LAC, v. MEM, v. MIA, v. NYK, v. NJ, v. ORL

Home Games- 10

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 1,351- 1,219 (+132)

Combined opponent’s records: (348-426)

Boston Celtics- Longest winning streak: 11 games

Nov. 22- Dec 24: @NYK, v. Sixers, v. Raptors, @MIA, @ CHAR, @ San Antonio, @ OKC, v. MIL, @WASH, @ CHI, @MEM

Home Games- 3

Road Games- 8

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 1,149- 1,039 (+110)

Combined opponent’s records: (311-336)

Los Angeles Lakers- Longest winning streak: 11 games

Nov. 17- Dec. 11: v. DET, v. CHI, v. OKC, v. NYK, @GSTATE, v. NJ, v. NO, v. MIA, v. PHX, v. UTH, v. MINN

Home Games- 10

Road Games- 1

# of games against potential playoff teams: 5

Outscored opponents: 1,182- 1,008 (+174)

Combined opponent’s records: (279-376)

Utah Jazz- Longest winning streak: 9 games

Jan. 20- Feb. 9: @ SAN, v. NJ, v. PHX, @ PORT, v. SAC, v. DAL, v. PORT, v. DEN, @LAC

Home Games- 6

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 999-887 (+112)

Combined opponent’s records: (272-270)

Oklahoma City Thunder- Longest winning streak: 9 games

Jan. 29- Feb. 21: v. DEN, v. GSTATE, v. ATL, @ NO, @ GSTATE, @PORT, v. DAL, @NYK, @ MINN

Home Games- 4

Road Games- 5

# of games against potential playoff teams: 4

Outscored opponents: 944-869 (+75)

Combined opponent’s records: (252-287)

Denver Nuggets- Longest winning streak: 8 games

Jan. 11- Jan. 27: v. MIN, v. ORL, v. UTH, @ GSTATE, v. LAC, v. NO, v. CHAR, @ HOU

Home Games- 6

Away Games- 2

# of games against potential playoff teams: 4

Outscored opponents: 884-801 (+83)

Combined opponent’s records: (223-253)

Dallas Mavericks- Winning streak currently: 8 games

Feb. 17- still going: v. PHX, @ ORL, v. MIA, v. IND, v. LAL, @ ATL, v. NO, @ CHAR

Home Games- 5

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 799-738 (+61)

Combined opponent’s records: (269-210)

(Potential playoff teams= top 9 teams in standings of each conference, all records and scores as of 03/01/10)

When I look at the statistics, it is quite apparent that the Mavs and Jazz have beaten the most quality opponents during their streaks. Dallas and Utah both beat six potential playoff teams and their opponents combined record is over .500. The Celtics win streak is impressive when you take in to account the number of road wins and number of potential playoff teams they took down.

The Lakers and Cavs also had very good winning streaks but a lot of their games came at home where most people would expect them to win.

I’m not trying to demean any of these teams winning streaks because winning that many games in a row in the NBA is not something that is easy to do. I just wanted to point out how great this winning streak has been for the Mavs. They have beaten some very good opponents in the past two weeks and this team could be on the path to something special. Their schedule is very favorable coming up with six of their next eight coming at home against subpar opponents. It will be interesting to see how long the Mavs can stretch this thing out.

There have been seven winning streaks of at least eight games or more in the NBA this season including the Mavs current eight game streak. Dallas has beaten some quality opponents during this tear through the league, so I wanted to see how it compared to the others. Here is what I found…

Cleveland Cavaliers- Longest winning streak: 13 games

Jan 16- Feb. 11: @LAC, v. TOR, v. LAL, v. OKC, @MIA, v. MIN, @IND, v. LAC, v. MEM, v. MIA, v. NYK, v. NJ, v. ORL

Home Games- 10

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 1,351- 1,219 (+132)

Combined opponent’s records: (348-426)

Boston Celtics- Longest winning streak: 11 games

Nov. 22- Dec 24: @NYK, v. Sixers, v. Raptors, @MIA, @ CHAR, @ San Antonio, @ OKC, v. MIL, @WASH, @ CHI, @MEM

Home Games- 3

Road Games- 8

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 1,149- 1,039 (+110)

Combined opponent’s records: (311-336)

Los Angeles Lakers- Longest winning streak: 11 games

Nov. 17- Dec. 11: v. DET, v. CHI, v. OKC, v. NYK, @GSTATE, v. NJ, v. NO, v. MIA, v. PHX, v. UTH, v. MINN

Home Games- 10

Road Games- 1

# of games against potential playoff teams: 5

Outscored opponents: 1,182- 1,008 (+174)

Combined opponent’s records: (279-376)

Utah Jazz- Longest winning streak: 9 games

Jan. 20- Feb. 9: @ SAN, v. NJ, v. PHX, @ PORT, v. SAC, v. DAL, v. PORT, v. DEN, @LAC

Home Games- 6

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 999-887 (+112)

Combined opponent’s records: (272-270)

Oklahoma City Thunder- Longest winning streak: 9 games

Jan. 29- Feb. 21: v. DEN, v. GSTATE, v. ATL, @ NO, @ GSTATE, @PORT, v. DAL, @NYK, @ MINN

Home Games- 4

Road Games- 5

# of games against potential playoff teams: 4

Outscored opponents: 944-869 (+75)

Combined opponent’s records: (252-287)

Denver Nuggets- Longest winning streak: 8 games

Jan. 11- Jan. 27: v. MIN, v. ORL, v. UTH, @ GSTATE, v. LAC, v. NO, v. CHAR, @ HOU

Home Games- 6

Away Games- 2

# of games against potential playoff teams: 4

Outscored opponents: 884-801 (+83)

Combined opponent’s records: (223-253)

Dallas Mavericks- Winning streak currently: 8 games

Feb. 17- still going: v. PHX, @ ORL, v. MIA, v. IND, v. LAL, @ ATL, v. NO, @ CHAR

Home Games- 5

Road Games- 3

# of games against potential playoff teams: 6

Outscored opponents: 799-738 (+61)

Combined opponent’s records: (269-210)

(Potential playoff teams= top 9 teams in standings of each conference, all records and scores as of 03/01/10)

When I look at the statistics, it is quite apparent that the Mavs and Jazz have beaten the most quality opponents during their streaks. Dallas and Utah both beat six potential playoff teams and their opponents combined record is over .500. The Celtics win streak is impressive when you take in to account the number of road wins and number of potential playoff teams they took down.

The Lakers and Cavs also had very good winning streaks but a lot of their games came at home where most people would expect them to win.

I’m not trying to demean any of these teams winning streaks because winning that many games in a row in the NBA is not something that is easy to do. I just wanted to point out how great this winning streak has been for the Mavs. They have beaten some very good opponents in the past two weeks and this team could be on the path to something special. Their schedule is very favorable coming up with six of their next eight coming at home against subpar opponents. It will be interesting to see how long the Mavs can stretch this thing out.

It all started nicely, then became a nightmare as Oklahoma City dropped forty points in the second quarter and never looked back defeating the Mavs 99-86 Tuesday night. Dallas has now lost six of their last eight and this wasn’t how the Mavs wanted to debut new players Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson.

Even though things looked pretty horrid at times, there are still positives to be taken out of this game. First of all, it was the team’s first game together with all the new pieces so it’s going to take some time to get acclimated, but both Butler and Haywood looked good early on.

I like what Caron Butler brings to the table. Obviously his size and toughness are key, but he brings things Josh Howard didn’t. I feel more confident with Butler’s ball handling skills and he wasn’t afraid to take it to the basket. Once he gets acclimated, he will be just fine. “Tough Juice” contributed 13 points in his Mavericks debut.

I was very pleased with what I saw out of Brendan Haywood. He finished the night with 7 points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes. I honestly don’t think it will be long before Haywood overtakes Dampier in the starting lineup permanently. Haywood’s addition to the trade becomes even larger now that Damp suffered an open dislocation of his right middle finger. There is no timetable set for his return.

Hopefully the Mavs get it all moving in the right direction soon because there are still big games remaining this week without a lot of practice time. We will see how they stack up Wednesday night against the Suns.