Dallas Mavericks

January schedule turns brisk with opportunity for Mavs to get red hot

Published Jan. 11, 2016 10:19 a.m. ET

Jeff Caplan

At this time next week, the Dallas Mavericks will be preparing to finish a five-games-in-seven-nights stretch against the Boston Celtics with a much better read on where they are and perhaps where they can go.

Between now and then, Dallas will have played Cleveland at home on Tuesday and then Oklahoma City (Wednesday), Chicago (Friday) and San Antonio (Sunday) all on the road. At 22-16 and one of the NBA's first-half surprises in a Western Conference that has largely staggered out of the gate, the Mavs have an opportunity to declare themselves legitimate contenders.

“If you look at the schedule this week, this has got to be as tough as it gets in this league with traveling, with back-to-backs, with only home for 48 hours,” Dirk Nowitzki told reporters, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, after he scored 29 points to lift Dallas to an important 93-87 road win at Minnesota. “It’s a monster. But as you do in this league, you take it one game at a time. You go home, go through some stuff [Monday] and then get ready for a tough game against a very, very tough team."

The stretch starts Tuesday with LeBron James and the streaking Cavaliers (they've won seven in a row) coming to Dallas for the first of three games in four nights. Then the Mavs start a three-game road trip at Oklahoma City, where they lost in November with Kevin Durant sidelined. Then it's off to Chicago, which is 6-1 since losing at Dallas on the day after Christmas. And on Sunday, it's the season's second stop at Southwest Division rival San Antonio, which is 22-0 at home.

Dallas' schedule turns brutal just as the teams surrounding it are starting to heat up. The Los Angeles Clippers, one spot ahead of the Mavs in the standings, have won nine in a row. Slow-starting Memphis and Houston, both directly behind Dallas, have combined to win five in a row.

One week from now when the Celtics come to Dallas to finish a five-games-in-seven-nights stretch and the Dallas Mavericks will certainly know more about where they are and where they might be headed.