By Tim McDarby and Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
      There was another Golden State-related fatality on Sunday night, where the Mavs lost, 108-107, to complete the two-game road trip with two straight losses.
      And now we’re left wondering: Just how bad are the Mavs on the road?
      The answer: We’ve got numbers that prove that, relatively speaking, maybe not as bad as you think.
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      First, to the issue of Golden State as a burial ground.
      Golden State is where good players come to die, and where they can be resurrected only when they leave.
      Antawn Jamison left and lived. Nick Van Exel arrived and died.
      The schedule-makers, however, have given Golden State another epic responsibility: Golden State, once again not a playoff contender itself, is also where postseason-seeding dreams go to die.
      Four of the five teams with the inside track to top five slots in the West tournament must go through the Warriors to get there. In the final few days of the regular season, Minnesota tackles Golden State. So does Sacramento. So do the Lakers.
      And on Sunday, so did Dallas.
      Editor’s note: We pause here to contemplate the bad karma that surrounds a Golden State franchise that, already burdened with its aforementioned ineptitude, also goes down the stretch with this final slate of opponents: Minnesota, Dallas, Lakers, Sacramento.
      Geez. Real fair.
      The fact that the Warriors ended a five-year, 20-game losing streak against Dallas gives the Mavs a woeful 15-25 mark, by far the worst of the seven locked-in Western Conference Playoff clubs.
      But as the playoffs approach, being bad on the road isn’t the issue; the issue is will Dallas be bad on the road against other playoff teams? And, will Dallas be worse on the road than the other playoff teams?
      Digest this:
      Seven teams have qualified in the West for the NBA playoffs. Here’s how they stack up against each other. …

1.	Minnesota 		14-9 Overall		6-5 on road	(wins at Sac. twice; LA, SA, 

Mem and Hou once)  


2.	Sacramento		12-11			5-7 on road	(wins at Houston twice; Minn, LA, SA 

once) 


3.	Los Angeles		11-13			4-8 on road	(wins at SA twice; Dal and Hou 

once) 


4.	San Antonio		11-13			5-7 on road	(wins at Houston twice; Minn, Sac, 

LA once) 


5.	Memphis			19-9			3-8 on road	(wins at Minn, SA, Houston) 


6.	Dallas			13-9			3-8 on road	(wins at Sac, LA, SA) 


7.	Houston			6-17			2-10 on road	(wins at Minn and LA)