I have watched the Dallas Mavericks all year long. This is not because I am a fan, but more because of geographical reasons. Yes, they won 60 games. No, they did not win their conference. They could not overcome the Spurs. This is going to be a central theme.
The sports media and general buzz around the area is that this id the Mavs' year. New coach Avery Johnson has lit a fire and it is supposed to end with a ring. I hate to break it to all of you Mavs fans, you are being ridiculously blindly optimistic.
Ok, let me throw this out there right away. I know all of you are going to bitch about the NBA no reseeding in the second round of it's playoffs. This places the Mavs most likely against the San Antonio Spurs. This is a 60 game winner vs. a 63 game winner in the second round. The NBA has never reseeded in between rounds. Things changed a little when you add a division and award a higher seed to divisional winners. So what?! You knew that all season long. All you needed to do was beat the Spurs and win the conference. Winning 60 games is all good, but it wasn't enough to put you in a favorable playoff position. Close but no cigar. Quit bitching!
I have a friendly wager with my local Buffalo Wild Wings bartender. We are going $50 a game in the Spurs-Mavs series, because I think there is no way that the Mavs can pull this one out. The Spurs are too deep and too talented.
Here is a general overview of the Mavs' problems in the playoffs. First off, since they are playing the Memphis Grizz, who have never won a playoff game ever, they will overlook them a bit. In what should be an easy series, mental lapses will push this series to at least six games. The Spurs will be on Dallas' minds.
At point guard, Jason "the Jet" Terry. He averaged 17 a game, with only 3.8 assists per outing. He is a relatively good ball-handler, but doesn't move it enough. With pressure for scoring, he looks to shoot first rather than distribute, which is OK, sometimes. With a banged up Darrell Armstrong, who tweaked an ankle in the finale, and chronically injured Devon Harris behind him, the position lacks depth.
Ok, this is taking too long. Basically, behind Dirk, there are no real or consistent threats. The general consensus is Josh Howard is the man. I heard a stat that the Mavericks are 19-0 when Josh Howard scores 20+. It is the playoffs and even the Memphis Grizz will step up the intensity. Certainly the Spurs will. Jerry Stackhouse shows up to play 1/10 of the time. The big men include DeSagana Diop and Dirk Nowitzke. Dirk is a viable MVP candidate. Diop is OK at best. Other than them, you have Keith Van Horn who broke his hand and Erick Dampier who is terrible. Good luck Mavs, but you have no chance against Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Bruce Bowen. Oh yeah, Robert Horry and Michael Finley can kill you too.
I will thoroughly enjoy collecting some extra cash when the Mavs faulter. The fans are wide-eyed and excited. They will end up going home with their tails between their legs. That is assuming they have tails, but whatever.
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I think the Spurs will beat the Mavericks, too, but I think Dallas deserves more credit than that. If your leading scorer is Nowitzki, 17 ppg for Terry isn't bad for a second offensive option. And with Tim Duncan's plantar fasciitis, if he gets matched up defensively with Nowitzki, Dirk might go off. I have seen San Antonio match Bruce Bowen up with Nowitzki, but I don't know if they can do that for a whole series, especially since that would force Duncan to guard a small forward (Josh Howard) with his injured foot.
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