It’s hard to give the rookies of the Mavericks a letter grade seeing how they all sat together at the end of the bench. Guard Maurice Ager played in 32 games this season and he only averaged 6.7 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Guard Jose Juan Barea played in 33 games this season and he averaged 5.8 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu played in only 12 games this year and he averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. It’s uncertain whether or not any of these guys will contribute in the future for the Mavericks because they just didn’t get enough playing time.

The Mavericks won the Southwest Division and they earned the #1 Seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Mavericks were 67-15 which had them 9 games ahead of the 2nd place San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks were almost unbeatable at home with a 36-5 record there and they were also great on the road with a 31-10 record. The Mavericks dominated the Western Conference with a 40-12 record and they were 14-2 against teams in their Division. They averaged 100.0 points per game and only allowed 92.8 per game. They won 6 of their last 10 games to end the season, but they were just having fun.

The last two weeks, Jerry Stackhouse has really stepped up for the Mavericks. He has played in 7 games over that stretch of time and he averaged 17.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. The Mavericks will need Stackhouse to continue with his excellent play off of the bench if they want to win the World Championship this season.

The Mavericks are sitting at 62-12 on the season and have opened up a 6.5 game lead on the Phoenix Suns with only 8 games left to play. The Mavericks would be smart to rest their regulars as soon as they wrap up the #1 seed because they don’t need any of their starters getting hurt like Gilbert Arenas did this week. The Mavericks are in great position to return to the NBA Finals as long as no one gets hurt, but it won’t be easy. The Suns, Spurs and the winner of the first round series between the Jazz and Rockets will all be a serious threat to the Mavericks in the West. That’s why they need to rest their starters the last few games of the regular season.