For two months, the Mavericks and Rangers waged a quiet battle. Which team could tank its 2018 season with a higher degree of subtlety? I thought the Mavs were winning early, but now the Rangers have established themselves as the clear leader.
The Mavs lost their season opener to the Atlanta Hawks, an awful team that night and the club with the worst record in the NBA today. Rick Carlisle's team did that sort of thing with frequency in the first 30 games. In fact, as recently as Christmas Day, Dallas was 2-17 in games decided by seven or fewer points.