Sports Talk with MC

by MC

With the number one seed in league all but a lock, the Dallas Mavericks have decided to give Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse a breather. No trip to ‘Sota for the two stars.

At press time, the Mavs are 65-13, and are on pace to a maximum of 69 victories, second most in the history of the NBA regular season. Pretty rosy, isn’t it?

Here’s the catch- with the Western Conference so deep, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Dallas have a bit of difficulty in round one of the NBA playoffs.

Should the Mavericks face the Golden State Warriors (38-40) in the opening round, I have a feeling that Mavs fans may just have a few more nightmares before they get to the promised land.

The boys from the Bay Area have beaten Dallas 5 out of the last 6 times they’ve met, and can, seemingly, match the league’s number one team in terms of speed (Don Nelson knows all about speed, believe me), athleticism (J-Rich, Baron, Andres Biedrins, Monta Ellis, and Al Harrington provide for a scary first 5), and scoring punch (uhem, like I alluded to earlier, Don Nelson is the Warriors head coach; his crazy track record speaks for itself). Should Dallas face the LA Clippers in round one (the Clips are currently 0.5 games behind GS for the final playoff spot in the West, with 4 games to go), they should have a considerably easier time, on the pretense that LA seems to be the team without too much of an identity at this point. Their one-dimensional grind it out style should prove to be something the Mavericks will be able to handle with their multifaceted offensive game and their gritty defensive mindset.

As a sports analyst (and a fan of Cuban’s gang), it’s really Old Man Nelson, and a rag tag group of Warriors in white and gold, that I’m wary of.

I’m not proclaiming that Golden State will be the cinderella story of the 2007 postseason and win the NBA Title. What I am saying, though, is that the Warriors might, and I mean, MIGHT, just be good enough to win two games, or even (shudder), pull of pretty much the biggest playoff upset since Denver trounced number 1 Seattle in 1994 (I knew a lot less in about life in 1994 than I do now, but my goodness, I knew what Mutombo and co. did back then was absolutely ridiculous…or was it Seattle’s breakdown that was insane?).

If Dallas does falter, prepare your wallets, sports fans. To the highest bidder goes the Mark Cuban’s franchise, and into the annals of ill-fated history, will go the Mavericks’ pride, and the story of their 2006-2007 that “should have” ended in a blaze of glory.

Here’s to hoping that I’m not jinxing my Mavs. If I end up doing so, well, I’ll buy you all doughnuts.

Maybe. =)

For More Info on the Mavs, visit- http://www.nba.com/mavericks