It's been just over a month since head coach Rick Carlisle called his Dallas Mavericks a "shit team" - though, he was careful to add, "an underrated shit team" - and a lot's changed.
The Mavs have gone on a nice little run, winning 10 of their past 16 games - including four of their past five - to move within 2.5 games of a playoff spot, which seemed unthinkable after they started the season 11-27.
That recent success prompted Mavs owner Mark Cuban to update Carlisle's assessment Tuesday.
"I'm not ready to say we're a good team," Cuban said, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, "but I'm ready to say we're not a shit team anymore."
Dallas acquired Nerlens Noel at the trade deadline, pairing Dirk Nowitzki with a mobile frontcourt defender and dive man in the mold of the much-missed Tyson Chandler, and the Mavs have outscored opponents by 19.5 points per 100 possessions when Noel and Nowitzki have shared the floor. They have the NBA's fourth-best defensive rating and ninth-best net rating since the start of February. And they're coming off back-to-back wins over Western Conference playoff teams in the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.
We're ready to agree with Cuban.
