After a win against the Sacramento Kings and an Oklahoma City Thunder loss against the Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks are tied with the Thunder for the 10th best record in the Western Conference. With two games left in the regular season, the Mavericks need one of two scenarios to happen: win both games and hope for the Thunder to lose one of their last two games, or win one of their last two games and see the Thunder lose their last two games.

If the Mavericks make the play-in as a 10th place finisher in the West, they will face the Minnesota Timberwolves. If they win, they will play the loser of the 7-seed vs. 8-seed game. If they win that game, they will advance to the playoffs as an 8-seed and play a seven-game series against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets. The NBA started using the current form of the play-in tournament in 2021, and 10th place teams are 0-4 in those games.