NBA Power Rankings: Boston Celtics look vulnerable; Knicks rounding back into form?

8. Dallas Mavericks

Over the last couple of weeks, the Dallas Mavericks have quickly evolved into one of the most interesting and entertaining teams to watch in the Western Conference. Whether or not that will naturally translate to wins in the NBA playoffs remains to be seen. However, I don't think there's any favorite that is going to be lining up to match up with the Mavs in a seven-game postseason series.

On paper, no matter who the Mavs face in the first round, there's a strong argument to make that they're likely going to have two of the better players on the court on any given night. Even though the duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving hasn't played out exactly as the Mavs had hoped when they originally made this trade, there's no question that they're going to be almost impossible to completely shut down in a seven-game series.

The question for the Mavs heading into the NBA playoffs is whether or not this duo will be able to carry them enough in which they can actually pull off a first-round playoff exit.