The Mavericks might actually make the playoffs

Don’t look now, but the Dallas Mavericks are only two games out of the No. 8 seed in the West, with only one other team (Portland) between themselves and Denver. Nerlens Noel is fitting in, Seth Curry is playing out of his mind, Dirk Nowitzki is having fun, and the Mavericks look much more prepared to make a run at the playoffs than do the Pelicans.

Dallas has back-to-back wins over the playoff-bound Grizzlies and Thunder. The next three opponents are the Lakers, Nets, and Suns, the three weakest teams in the NBA. The schedule gets much more tough after that, but if the Mavs can make up ground now, they have as good a shot as anyone of taking No. 8. Denver has some tough games coming up soon too, while Portland’s schedule is pretty soft until April.

This is all Rick Carlisle’s wizardry, the emergence of Harrison Barnes, Yogi Ferrell, and Seth Curry, the defensive excellence of Wesley Matthews, the continuance of Dirk. This team always seems to find a way to be competitive, even when there’s no reason why they should be. It seems impossible that a team that starts 2-13 and 6-20 would be in the mix for a playoff spot, but here they are.

IND 97, ATL 96
GSW 112, NYK 105
BOS 106, PHX 109
ORL 114, WAS 115
UTA 110, SAC 109 (OT)
OKC 89, DAL 104
NOP 105, LAL 97

Is LeBron James the greatest teammate of all time? Paul Flannery looks at LeBron’s impact on those who play with him, both fellow stars and role players he reinvigorates. Paul’s look at the decision to feed Deron Williams with the game on the line in Boston last week is resonant, and there is a long list of fringe veterans who have made highlights and money off LeBron’s belief in them. This is a must-read piece that (I think) will help inform our rating of LeBron’s legacy as we collectively debate whether he’s reached His Airness.

It turns out that Jim Buss isn’t interested in leaving the Lakers’ front office quietly. He and his brother Johnny attempted what appears to be a hilariously inept coup attempt to oust Jeanie Buss as controlling owner. It is at this point that the Lakers family drama became a comedy.

Oh no! Adam Silver is among those disenchanted with the lack of competitiveness in the NBA All-Star Game. At Sloan this weekend he said that the league plans to change the game by next season. Rock N’ Jock-style rules were mentioned.

How did the Suns beat the Celtics, you ask? Credit a beautiful Eric Bledsoe layup and a jaw-dropping Tyler Ulis game-winner.

Speaking of Ulis, watch him and Isaiah Thomas compete in what must be the shortest NBA jump ball ever.

There have been more triple-doubles in the NBA this year than in any previous season. It’s the beginning of March.

Madison Square Garden had a silent first half for Knicks-Warriors on Sunday -- no music, no dancers, or Jumbotron entertainment during timeouts. Kinda neat, yeah? Well Draymond Green was NOT PLEASED.

I could just drop in Rudy Gobert’s INSANE tip-in game-winner and slink away. But we need to talk about Willie Cauley-Stein’s near-homicide of Gobert, and Gobert’s immense bravery in putting himself in the line of fire. This would have been the dunk of the year. SB Nation NBA would have assigned multiple thinkpieces off it. But Gobert got up there, hit Cauley-Stein in the chest, and still almost found himself on a poster. WCS made two free throws anyway. But Gobert’s valor in accepting potential ridicule should be recognized. His sacrifice almost gave us a screaming poster. Almost.

Speaking of dunks, Team Flight Brothers recreate NBA Jam.

Festus Ezeli, in an effort to stay on brand as really weird, will have the NBA’s first ever surgery involving a cadaver donor.

Speaking of weird, Karl-Anthony Towns’ dad might sue the Timberwolves because of an injury suffered in a mascot stunt.

And finally, shout out to SB Nation’s new editor-in-chief, Elena Bergeron. She’s been the executive editor of SBNation.com for a while now, and has been awesome. She’ll continue to be awesome in her new, bigger role. We’re all very excited here, so you should be excited, too.