There is a school of thought that after a slow start, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks are starting to figure things out. There also is a school of thought that after a quick start, the Philadelphia 76ers are coming back to the pack.
Both of those notions will be tested when the Mavericks visit the 76ers in Friday’s best NBA game.
The Mavericks (19-11) have matched a season high with five straight wins, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Dallas has won at Denver and Minnesota, held on to beat Portland in overtime and edge the Los Angeles Clippers, and routed Denver, 102-84, on Wednesday.
Yes, Dirk Nowitzki is playing much better since his team-imposed conditioning stint, averaging 23.7 points and shooting better than 50 percent from the field in his last seven games. But some of the recent success has to go to fellow forward Shawn Marion, who is doing it on both ends.
Marion is averaging 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds during the winning streak. He also has taken on the chore of matching up with the opponent’s biggest offensive threat.
Against the Nuggets, the 6-9 Marion shadowed 5-11 Ty Lawson and helped hold him to three points on 1-of-8 shooting. Against the Clippers, he drew the fourth-quarter assignment on Chris Paul, and his size took the lob out of Los Angeles’ offense.
The Sixers don’t really have a go-to scorer – reserve guard Lou Williams is the team’s leading scorer at 16.1 points – so it will be interesting to see where Dallas coach Rick Carlisle deploys Marion. It again could be on an opposing guard because the underrated Delonte West is out until mid-March with a dislocated finger.
Philadelphia (20-10) is just 4-4 since climbing 10 games above .500 for the first time with a win over Chicago on Feb. 1. The Sixers have not played poorly; there are three road wins in that stretch, and their 
losses are to Miami, San Antonio, the Clippers and Orlando. But the schedule has gotten tougher this month, and the Sixers have not looked as sharp as they did against weaker foes in January.
Following Friday’s game, the schedule remains tough as the Sixers begin a four-game road trip that runs through the All-Star break and takes them to Minnesota, Memphis, Houston and Detroit.
Dallas is starting a stretch of four straight games on national TV. Friday’s game is on ESPN, Sunday’s firsthand look at Linsanity in New York on Sunday is on ABC, Monday’s home game vs. Boston is on TNT and Wednesday’s home meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers is back on ESPN.