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The Dallas Mavericks felt like a postseason lock a few months ago. They reached as high as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, and on Feb. 8, they were 30-26. Well, ever since then, they have gone an abysmal 7-16 and fallen to No. 11 in the Western Conference. Now, they'd need help just to reach the play-in tournament.  They trail the Oklahoma City Thunder, currently seeded No. 10, by one Game with three to play, but the Thunder have the tiebreaker between the two teams. Any combination of two Thunder wins or Maverick losses would ensure that the Thunder finish ahead of the Mavericks in the standings without some luck involving three-team tiebreakers. The situation in Dallas has grown so dire that some have even speculated that the Mavericks might shut down stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and accept defeat. But Doncic rejected that notion on Tuesday. He confirmed after practice that he plans to play ...

The Atlanta Hawks' surprising run to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals, where they put an honest scare into the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks, told us, effectively, one thing: Trae Young is a superstar. Yes, the team over-performed, especially defensively, and the matchups with the Knicks and Sixers look pretty gift-wrapped in hindsight. But what Young did, was real. He was the reason the Hawks had a puncher's chance then, and he's the reason they have a puncher's chance now.  Even at 13-11 and starting to skid, the Hawks aren't a team to be trifled with because Young, even in a down-shooting year so far, registers as one of the most inevitable point-creators in the league, and now he has a second creator in Dejounte Murray, who, in theory, should make Atlanta less susceptible to Young-eliminating defensive schemes in the playoffs.  There's some upside-down stuff happening with the Haw...