Power Rankings: Watch Dirk score, watch Dallas win

Updated Dec. 25

Lots has been written and said about the Dallas Mavericks during the last 12 months. Some fair, some not. That's what happens when you go through a situation as unique as Dallas went through last season -- achieving great heights and then falling so fast.

Dirk Nowitzki's numbers are up lately, and so are the Mavericks' win totals. (AP)

Through the first third of the season there has been a hangover. That's now fair to say. Part of it has been getting Devin Harris acclimated to running the show. Part of it has been dealing with getting new pieces like Eddie Jones and Brandon Bass settled in. Part of it has been dealing with the absence of center Erick Dampier the first few weeks.

Most of it, as with everything with the Mavericks, can be attributed to Dirk Nowitzki not being right. It really is that simple.

Nowitzki has been asked to be more of a passer this season, which is exhibited by the fact he's on pace to reach career-high assist totals. At the same time, he's put pressure on himself to be more of a leader, blaming the man in the mirror for the hurting Golden State put on his franchise last spring. Whatever conflicts have been going through his head affected his play, but it looks like he's snapped out of it.

"I think they were tricked into thinking that last season was a disgrace," head coach Avery Johnson said, speaking of his team as a whole, but knowing who the statement really was directed at. "So I had to kind of lay out what other teams have done and lay out where this organization was 10 years ago and where we are now."

Where they are now is nothing to be ashamed of, and perhaps more than anyone, they have Nowitzki to thank for that. That's why it's a good thing it stopped being acceptable to see him third on the team in scoring, behind Josh Howard and Jason Terry, as he was during the initial part of the season.

As it stands now, he's Dirk again. A glance at the team's scoring leaders has him back atop, in his rightful spot. Not coincidentally, the Mavericks have won seven of eight games, including five straight heading into this week's challenging back-to-back against Utah and Cleveland. He's scored 30 or more five times this month after doing so only once in all of November. He's back to regularly taking 20 shots per game.

Some snicker over the fact that he's the reigning MVP and after a lackluster first month, it was worth wondering aloud whether winning that honor ultimately did more harm than good. He's snapped out of his funk, though. If he stays out of it, it stands to reason there will be very little for the Mavericks to be ashamed of.

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Celtics · Trends	1
	Biggest win of opening week: Re-upping with Rajon Rondo for five more seasons. ... Opening victory at Cleveland demonstrated that Rasheed Wallace was a better pickup than Shaq.
	2	Magic · Trends	2
	Unhappy homecoming: Vince Carter sprained ankle in win at New Jersey. ... Who needs Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis? Dwight Howard goes back-to-back-to-back with double-doubles.
	3	Lakers · Trends	3
	Most impressive part of win over Atlanta: When Kobe Bryant couldn't stop Hawks' Joe Johnson, Ron Artest took over and could. ... Why no drop in rankings? We haven't seen Pau Gasol yet.
	4	Nuggets · Trends	7
	Defending division champs send early reminder to Northwest rivals Utah, Portland. ... This is hilarious: Nene Hilario averaged 5.7 fouls in first three games.
	5	Spurs · Trends	5
	First back-to-back -- win over Hornets, loss to Bulls -- not encouraging for NBA's old-timers. ... After Manu Ginobili corralled bat, would you want to defend him?
	6	Cavaliers · Trends	4
	Most discouraging aspect of 0-2 start: There's already talk of who the Cavs must acquire at trade deadline. ... Shaq not making any Cleveland fans forget Brad Daugherty.
	7	Hawks · Trends	9
	Hawks (84.3 percent) are scorching opponents from free-throw line. ... Josh Smith (23) NBA's youngest ever to block 900 shots.
	8	Heat · Trends	14
	Only Celtics (19.3) had greater average margin of victory than Heat (14.3) in first week. ... Here's another win: Hard-nosed Tim Hardaway gets No. 10 jersey retired.
	9	Mavericks · Trends	11
	First-week wins at Staples Center: Lakers two, Mavericks two, Clippers one. ... Best offseason acquisition? Shawn Marion (16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) right up there.
	10	Trail Blazers · Trends	6
	Brandon Roy scored 20 in home win over Rockets, 42 in rematch loss at Houston. ... Talk about filling up the box score: Greg Oden posted 11 blocks and 19 fouls in the first four games.
	11	Rockets · Trends	19
	No Tracy McGrady, so Trevor Ariza (21.2 points, 48 percent shooting) is getting the green light and making opponents pay. ... When did Houston acquire Chris Paul and why does his jersey say "Brooks"?
	12	Suns · Trends	17
	Easy to see why the Suns wanted Steve Nash back: 20 assists vs. Golden State ... Thank you, Mr. Nash: Pick-and-pop center Frye hits 13 of first 20 from 3-point range.
	13	76ers · Trends	13
	No early surprises: Loss at Orlando, wins over lowly Bucks, Knicks. ... Don't call me Louis: Williams averaging 20.3 points, five-plus rebounds, assists.
	14	Wizards · Trends	21
	Message of season-opening win at Dallas: Gilbert Arenas is back. ... Vastly improved Andray Blatche hits 28 of first 39 off bench.
	15	Bulls · Trends	15
	Why 1-2 is acceptable: Rugged slate tipped off with Spurs, Celtics, Heat. ... Round 1 of Derrick Rose vs. Tony Parker goes to the second-year standout.
	16	Jazz · Trends	10
	Jazz look old, slow in blowout home loss to Rockets ... Carlos Boozer is earning his big bucks: three games, three double-figure rebound efforts.
	17	Hornets · Trends	8
	My, how the mighty have fallen: Only win is over the Kings; already a loss to Knicks. ... Frustrated Chris Paul exchanged words with Rondo after defeat at Boston.
	18	Raptors · Trends	24
	Why Chris Bosh remains a Raptor: three games, three double-doubles. ... Roller-coaster ride has begun: Loss to Grizzlies follows shockingly easy win over Cavaliers.
	19	Thunder · Trends	23
	Who says offense sells? Defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha gets a generous extension. ... Not a list you want to lead: Kevin Durant tops in league in missed shots (43) through three games.
	20	Bobcats · Trends	26
	Just keep shooting: Gerald Wallace opens season 11 for 40, then scores 24 in win over Nets. ... Good news: Raja Bell puts off surgery. Bad news: He debuts 1-for-8.
	21	Pistons · Trends	12
	Duplication can be good thing: With Richard Hamilton (ankle) out, Ben Gordon pours in 25, 26. ... Home loss to Thunder was no surprise: Detroit dropped one to Western doormat last year, too.
	22	Pacers · Trends	22
	Mr. Double-Double doing it again: Troy Murphy goes 14-10, then 12-13. ... League's Worst Player of First Week candidate: Dahntay Jones shoots 33.3 percent, has 9-2 turnover/assist ratio.
	23	Warriors · Trends	18
	Stephen Jackson update: No tirades, no quality starts in club's 0-2 opening. ... First two opponents (Rockets, Suns) drop in 24 of 48 from 3-point range.
	24	Clippers · Trends	16
	Balloon gets popped early: Club loses rookie star Blake Griffin to fractured kneecap. ... Only the Clippers: Despite triumph over Timberwolves, they still trail winless club (Warriors) in rankings.
	25	Grizzlies · Trends	29
	One game into Grizzlies career, Allen Iverson already making waves. ... It may be time to start asking: Who got better of Gasol-for-Gasol trade with Lakers?
	26	Knicks · Trends	27
	Remarkable feat: Danilo Gallinari averaging 10.5 3-point attempts per game. Equally remarkable: He has made 45.2 percent of them.
	27	Timberwolves · Trends	25
	Who needs Ricky Rubio? Rookie Jonny Flynn second on Timberwolves with 14.8 scoring average. ... Who needs Rubio? Timberwolves do. No player averaging more than 3.2 assists.
	28	Bucks · Trends	30
	Reserve lottery seat for Bucks: Michael Redd's knee already acting up. ... Paving path across Atlantic: Seasoned Brandon Jennings (20.5 points, 6.0 assists) was top rookie of Week 1.
	29	Kings · Trends	28
	First coaching win is classic Paul Westphal: 127-116 over Grizzlies. ... Don't count Kevin Martin (31.0) out of league scoring race.
	30	Nets · Trends	20
	It can't get worse: No field goals over 11½-minute stretch in loss to Bobcats. ... Why is Courtney Lee (33.3 percent shooting, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists) playing 40.3 minutes a game?