Full-Court Press

A crucial four-game stretch

It's the beginning of a four-game home stand, which is the Mavs' final home stand that is longer than two games until March 6. Three of the games are against Eastern Conference teams that the Mavs shouldn't have problems with, but the third game is against Golden State, a team they have had well-documented troubles with.

After these four home games, 19 of their next 28 will be on the road, so this stretch could be crucial in positioning themselves to succeed over that road-intensive two months.

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd

Fine time for some rest

If ever there's a time this season when the Mavericks looked they needed a four-day break, it isn't now.

They just finished up a stretch that lasted a little over a month in which they played 19 games and never had more than one day off in between. There were 12-7 during that stretch but were hurt by some injuries and the continued early-season slump from Dirk Nowitzki for a large chunk of the run.

However, the last five games have brought back memories of last year's regular season in which the Mavs were the most dominant team in the league. Dirk looks like MVP Dirk and not Shell-shocked Dirk, the bench is performing as envisioned and the Mavs are getting good wins against good teams.

They could obviously use an extended rest to recoup a few nagging injuries, rest their weary bodies and visit family during the holiday season, so it isn't like this is a negative thing. And there is also something to be said about entering a long break on a positive note. It keeps you from stewing on your failures and puts you with a confident tone when you return from the break. And for the Mavericks, confidence and a positive outlook are definitely things they have been needing since last year's playoffs.

So, even though it seems like it would be nice to keep carrying their current momentum on for a few more games, this four-day rest could simply be the intermission to the next chapter of their season in which they do what's been expected of them all season. We'll see.

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd

Top Five: Reasons for sluggish start

Everybody likes top five lists, right? Well, now it's your turn to give us your list.

Wednesday's 92-76 loss to the Raptors dropped the Mavericks to 14-9 on the season, four games behind the Spurs in the Southwest.

Tell us: What are five reasons you think the Mavericks are struggling this year?