The Mavericks completed two more great weeks with a 5-1 record between late November and early December. This brings their record to 16-9 and puts them in fourth place in the Western Conference, just behind Houston and Memphis. The five wins were part of a seven-game winning streak and came against Utah (106-94), Portland (137-131), Memphis (121-116), Washington (137-101) and Toronto (125-131). 118). Oklahoma City ended Dallas’ winning streak and its NBA Cup hopes when they defeated the Mavericks 118-104. Naji Marshall (illness) returned to action on Tuesday, but PJ Washington became infected and missed the game against the Thunder. Dante Exum (wrist) remains out.

Grade: A

From now until the end of the season, I will include a graph of grade trends since the beginning of the year. To illustrate: an F is 0 and an A+ is 12:

With every “It’s so over” at 5-7 comes an even louder “We’re so back” at 16-9. Despite the bitter aftertaste of a loss to a good Thunder team, the Mavericks are still one of the five best teams in the league. In their last 12 games, Dallas has a 10-2 record with a 9.1 net rating and is tied with Memphis for most points per game (123.5). The offense was booming, the defense was steadfast and the team was having fun. After the Mavericks started the year 1-6 in crucial games, the script changed and they won five of their last six close games.

Simply put, the Mavericks are doing things they didn’t do in the first two weeks. The team looks balanced, they have taken care of bad teams and the stars have stepped up when they needed to, aside from the loss to Oklahoma City. The Mavericks continued to prove why they are a threat in the Western Conference by winning games with and without Luka Doncic. Things are going so well for them at the moment that even their elimination from the NBA Cup looks like a blessing as they will have four days off until their next game on Sunday. With the illness that has spread throughout the team likely to have subsided by then, the Mavericks could make another big run to end the year. It’s fun to be a basketball fan in Dallas right now.

Straight A: Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie has been great for Dallas lately. In his last six games, he has 25 assists and 8 turnovers while shooting 46.2 percent from three games. The importance of a backup point guard on a Luka Doncic team cannot be overstated. Doncic needs to be able to rest as long as possible without the Mavericks giving up a lead, and Dinwiddie has allowed Dallas to do just that. According to PBP Stats, Dinwiddie only turned the ball over 1.6 times per 100 possessions without Luka Doncic on the court. Additionally, he causes fouls at a rate of 15 percent, meaning he can both take care of the ball and put defenses in precarious positions. As if that wasn’t enough, he also makes big shots like these two against Memphis:

Dinwiddie has been everything the Mavericks hoped he would be, and the marriage between the two continues to be magical.

Currently failing: Dallas without PJ Washington

The Mavericks are now 1-5 without Washington this year. Their four-game losing streak earlier this season came with a lot of emotions, and those emotions masked the underlying issue that Dallas isn’t the same team when Washington is out. He provides an element of size, playmaking and spacing that they cannot match from any other player on the team. Without him, the offense seems much more powerful and the defense much softer. He is Dallas’

Extra credit: Luka Doncic

Doncic missed nearly two weeks in late November with a wrist injury. Before halftime, Doncic looked groggy and tired and shot the ball poorly most nights. Since his return, he has averaged 28 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.6 assists on 40 percent from three and two triple-doubles. Outside of the first half against Oklahoma City, he appeared lively, energetic and back to his normal ability. With so much time off due to a relatively minor injury, it would have been easy for Doncic to return the same way he started the year. To his credit, he took his health seriously and reminded the NBA world why his team made it to the NBA Finals six months ago.