Mavericks Math: Dallas Plus Dirk Nowitzki Equals NBA's Hottest Team

It's some fairly simple equations:

Mavericks minus Nowitzki equals a struggling team.

Mavericks plus Nowitzki equals the hottest team in the NBA.

With Nowitzki back at full strength, the Mavericks (35-15) have won nine of their last 10 games.

In this stretch, they haven't simply beaten the lower-tier teams of the league.

This current streak started with Dallas beating the Lakers at home. Now, they have gone on the road and swept the Knicks, Celtics and the Bobcats over the last four days.

Over the last five games, Nowitzki is averaging 25 PPG and is shooting 62 percent from the floor (44-for-71).

Nowitzki is not a one-man show. The Mavericks are also getting great production from their revitalized veteran center, Tyson Chandler.

Chandler is averaging 14 points and 15 rebounds over the last four games.

The Mavs have stepped up their effort on the defensive end of the court. In the last five games, Dallas is only allowing their opponents to score 93.8 PPG.

Staying healthy is a big issue with any NBA team. One injury can change the course of a season.

The Mavericks found out in a hurry when Nowitzki went down to injury earlier this season how much they depend on their sharpshooting power forward.

During that nine-game stretch, the Mavericks lost seven of nine games.

Coach Rick Carlisle has continued to maintain that the Mavs' best basketball still may be ahead of them. He believes that Dallas still has not found a way to be playing well at both ends of the court at the same time.

Saturday night's win puts the Mavericks back into second place in the Western Conference, seven games in back of first-seeded San Antonio Spurs and a half-game ahead of the Lakers.