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A chance to defend the NBA Championship is still up in the air for the Dallas Mavericks.
At 31-26, the Mavs currently are the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference in the middle of a logjam. The Mavs are two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for fifth place, but 10th-place Utah is just two games behind Dallas. The good news is that the next three games are against sub-.500 teams, but the bad news is that six of the final nine games are on the road, and the Mavs are 11-16 on the road this season. The San Antonio Spurs haven't clinched the division yet, but it's all but a formality now.
With Lamar Odom going on the inactive list, the Mavs lose some length and athleticism. The Mavs were 0-7 without Odom in the lineup this season. That's going to have to change if Dallas wants to defend its title.
For more information on the Dallas Mavericks, check out Mavs Moneyball. For more news and notes from around the NBA head over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.