Over from playing a rush of Eastern Conference teams, the Mavericks now face a stretch of same-conference foes from the West. The Mavericks' past four games have been against the East, and they emerged 3-1. In all, they are 15-6 against the other conference this season.

Now it's on to a stretch of eight of its next nine against Western Conference opponents, starting Thursday at Memphis.

There is good and bad in that. The direct competition against conference opponents means the Mavericks have a chance to make up ground in the standings. It also means they'll be facing the toughest teams in the NBA. The Eastern Conference is so significantly weaker that the Mavericks' .684 winning percentage is good enough for second in the East.