The Mavericks are 7-3 and entering a stretch of the schedule that will tell them a lot about whether they are “for real.”
Six of their next seven games are on the road and six of the next seven opponents are on the good side of .500.
It’s going to be a test, particularly for the Mavericks’ big men.
A steady diet of Nikola Vucevic (Chicago), Nikola Jokic (Denver), Deandre Ayton (Phoenix, twice) and Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein (Clippers, twice) await Dwight Powell, Boban Marjanovic, Kristaps Porzingis and Willie Cauley-Stein.
“We got the Joker on Monday and Chicago (Wednesday), they got some talented bigs,” coach Jason Kidd said.