They will be fortunate, against mighty Minnesota, to covereth the spread. On this Thanksgiving, the Cowboys are the stuffing and the Mavericks are the story. The 'Boys have gone 4-7 and the Mavericks, even more unexpectedly, lost just four of their first 12. Nothing is clinched in the first few weeks of an interminable regular season, but the Mavericks have at least managed to secure membership in the club of opening-month surprises. Foremost on the list can only be Philadelphia.
Phoenix is also up there.
Sacramento and Cleveland, too. They're doing it with liberal doses of Don Nelson's Small Ball. Most of all, they're flourishing in spite of the fact that none of their many offseason acquisitions have come close to a home run. And in the face of an ongoing Cuban Whistle Crisis. The Mavericks are 3-0 in the last three games their outspoken owner has skipped, all road games that followed the Phoenix incident in which he had to be escorted away from referee Hue Hollins.