From Dennis Velasco,
Your Guide to Basketball.
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The Mavericks are winning at a staggering pace. What do you think their final record will be? Should they ease off to rest key players as the season winds down or squeeze every possible W out of the regular season?

Nick: I think that the Mavs will just miss the 70-12 mark set by the 1995-96 Bulls and finish 68-14. They just took loss number ten against the Warriors, and I think will lose a little bit of focus down the regular season's final stretch (if you can even say that). In regards to easing off to rest players for the playoffs I would strongly disagree with that notion. You don't get dust on the fenders until you turn off the motor, so I think the Mavericks need to keep on running right through the playoff push. Dirk and company need to keep their stride and try to return to the NBA Finals. Regardless of record, the end of the regular season is not designed for resting. The summer time is.

Atma Brother #1: Quick - someone tell me how many wins the Detroit Pistons had in the regular season last year. Quick - someone tell me who won the East last year.

No one remembers regular season success. People remember what goes down in the NBA Playoffs and the NBA Finals. I get the feeling the Mavs could care less about racking up 70 wins in the regular season. After last year's shocking collapse in the NBA Finals all these Mavs appropriately care about is getting their roster in tip-top shape for some epic battles in the Western Conference Playoff bracket and chasing those rings. They have a great shot this year of winning those rings too - as long as they avoid the steamroller!

Dave: They shouldn’t play to lose or take games for granted, but I’d play my starters just enough time at the beginning of each half to keep them in shape and make the game credible, then give my bench guys some serious looks to prepare them better for the postseason (and to see who I could depend on).

Dennis: It'll be tough to reach that 70 win plateau and I would agree that getting to that benchmark isn't the Mavericks' goal. It doesn't matter how many wins they get in the regular season, what matters is that they get those 16 wins in the postseason. I think the Mavs should play their rotation as they normally would and maybe get their starters some spot rest here in there. Maybe an extra few minutes more than usual let players rest. Other than that, I don't see much changing from what they've been doing, which has served them well this season, wouldn't you say?