The San Antonio Spurs are finding their late-season stride while the Dallas Mavericks are falling out of sync with one another at the wrong time. Suddenly the Spurs roster is putting it all together after getting upset by the New York Knicks while the Mavericks are at risk of falling into a three-game losing streak. Now the two Western Conference teams face off as the fight for position in the playoff standings.
Just a few weeks ago, many were counting the Spurs out as playoff contenders, but suddenly the team appears to be thriving. Tony Parker is a large part of that effort. The point guard started the season averaging just 14.9 points on 48.3 percent shooting which is his lowest marks since putting up 14.7 points per game back in 2003-2004. However, in the past 10 games Parker has been averaging 19.9 points on 58.5 percent shooting and the Spurs have won 10 of their last 12 games because of it. Now, San Antonio is just one game back from taking over the fifth place spot in the Western Conference currently held by the Los Angeles Clippers. Parker is thriving with few turnovers as the Spurs are 23-9 when the point guard commits just two or fewer turnovers.
Kawhi Leonard is following Parker's late season improvement. He is currently averaging 20.0 points in his last 11 games. Tiago Splitter has totaled 41 points in his last two games. All of these little changes have helped make up for the fewer minutes Duncan is playing and four games Manu Ginobili has missed with a sprained ankle. Now the Spurs take on the Mavericks, a team Tony Parker has been thriving against. The point guard has averaged 22.8 points on 56.3 percent shooting in his last six games against the in-state rivals. He is even responsible for the game-winning 3-pointer hit in a home victory back in October.
Dallas is trailing the Spurs by one game in the playoff race as they cannot afford many more mistakes. The team struggled heavily against the Phoenix Suns, losing 98-92 on the road which caused head coach Rick Carlisle to speak out and slam the team's overall effort. The Mavericks had rallied from being down 17 points, but managed to blow a six-point lead.
Right now the team is being led by Monta Ellis. When he plays well the rest of the team follows. In his last two games, Ellis has gone 4 of 22 and 7 for 31 lately and the Mavericks are just 8-16 when the veteran shooting worse than 40 percent. If the Mavericks are going to pull things together in time for a late-season run into the playoffs, Ellis needs to improve.
