Each Monday throughout the NBA season, ESPN Insider will investigate the latest trends in the league. Basketball Prospectus' Kevin Pelton is keeping an eye on all the numbers and will have a first look at how players, teams and the league as a whole are evolving.
Trending team: Dallas Mavericks
With their 10-game winning streak that came to an end on Arron Afflalo's buzzer-beating jumper Thursday in Denver, the Mavericks put themselves back into the discussion of the Western Conference's best teams. Dallas now holds a half-game advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers for the West's second seed. However, a deeper look at the Mavericks' streak suggests it was much less impressive than it looks on the surface.