The Mavericks didn’t just beat the odds during the final week before the All-Star break.
They obliterated them, took prevailing wisdom and slapped it up against the wall and got the last laugh on anybody who thought they would wilt without most of their key players.
And why wouldn’t they? Playing without Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and, at times, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson is a recipe for disaster.
But it wasn’t.
Instead, they won four of five games before the break to keep themselves in a much better position in the Western Conference standings, which now become daily mandatory viewing for teams and fans alike.