Get your butt on the record: Mavs edition

Countdown to meaningful Mavs games begins now -- 82 games to go.

Sorry, I just am finding myself nonplussed by this regular season. Obviously, The Little General and his army have proven themselves to be regular-season studs. What everybody is waiting for is to see how they fare in playoff games.

But the NBA has this little rule. They make you play the games, which means we media types predict and usually conveniently forget when we totally screw up and say pick the Rangers to win 92 games or Dallas to sweep Golden State. Not me. I am a bold predicting machine.

So mark me down for the Mavs winning however many games ranks them second in the West and a West Finals date* with Phoenix. This is what everybody else is saying:

Look for a big year unless Marky Mark screws it up.

One in 10 NBA general managers believe Santonio and Phoenix have a better shot.

Stinkin' Spurs rank just a little ahead of your Dallas Mavericks nationally. Again.

Good thing Mark Stein has a job at ESPN or else nobody at the World Wide Leader would give the Mavs a shot, period.

OK, your turn to get your butt on the record: How far do the Mavs go?