FISH: Mavs' Bid to be the Best Continues in OKC – but Without Carlisle

By Mike Fisher

FOXSports.com and DallasBasketball.com
December 27, 2010

It's difficult to put excessive stock in the prideful words of Jason Terry, who claims this year's Dallas Mavericks are "the best team in the league."

What should make that easy to buy is Dallas' 23-5 overall record, its NBA-topping 10-1 road record and its opportunity tonight to win a 17th game in 18 outings.

But what makes it so difficult to take Jet's analysis seriously is that he's issued those sorts of optimistic words about every edition of the Mavs since his arrival in Dallas in 2004.

So how about another view from inside the club?

"We feel like we're one of the best teams in the league, if not the best right now," says Caron Butler, an NBA veteran and two-time All-Star who joined the Mavs just last February. "We're playing great basketball, so we want to capitalize on every opportunity."

All of that sets the stage for the Mavs' return to the court after a five-day holiday, and they will do so tonight in Oklahoma City against their unfriendly neighbors, the Thunder.