Will the Mavericks make playoff noise?

The TrueHoop podcast is on Spotify, Apple, and right here.

On today’s episode, David Thorpe and Jarod Hector discuss:

• The Mavericks ended the Rockets’ 11-game winning streak and, after winning the trade deadline, are defending much better.

• In figuring out playoff matchups, a huge factor has become the NBA’s true tanking teams, like the Raptors, Blazers, and Jazz. (“The Blazers have taken it to another level” says David. “I saw the Miami game.” Miami won by 60 on Friday.)

• What’s wrong with the Cavaliers?

• The impending return of Joel Embiid. (David notes that players who miss preseason tend to play poorly in November, and this will be like his preseason. And there’s no guarantee the 76ers will make it through the play-in.)

• How Alabama made the Final Four.

• G-League players are telling David that some teams have, essentially, stopped trying for the year.

• Why do the betting houses assume Nikola Jokic will be the MVP? To David, “it’s not even close” that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league’s best player. “He’s carrying a team! He’s Michael Jordan right now!”

• David doesn’t like the phrase “both sides of the ball.”

Thank you for listening!