Well don't look now but the Dallas Mavs are right there

[Amarelooms]

with da big boys. If the Mavs can stay healthy they can compete with any of the so called "contenders". Just best to avoid Golden State and New Orleans :elephant

[lil_penny]

and if you guys make it to the finals... the heat

[Culburn369]

Big game in Los Angeles on Sunday. We'll see where the bear shits in the buckwheat then. Until then don't ferget the Heat took yer cookie. And what else? They made ya like it.

[iggypop123]

will both teams be healthy? that should be the key

[Findog]

Damn. The Mavs play @ Sacramento the night before. We could easily lose both games. The Kings have been salty this year.

[Culburn369]

You lose that game Sunday, Fin, and I'm gonna crawl up in yer shit and play dead.

[Spursfan092120]

Where?

[Culburn369]

:lmao:lmao

[Findog]

You lose that game Sunday, Fin, and I'm gonna crawl up in yer shit and play dead.

Ok

[Culburn369]

:lmao

[Findog]

:jack

[badfish22]

Big game in Los Angeles on Sunday.

What happen last time we went to L.A.? Matty C took a couple shots to close it out.

[j.dizzle]

http://www.hoopiquity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/manu-ginobili-flopper.jpg

[Findog]

What happen last time we went to L.A.? Matty C took a couple shots to close it out.

Mavs beat the Lakers in LA like once every 3 or 4 years. I think at one point the drought was like 17 years.

[badfish22]

Mavs beat the Lakers in LA like once every 3 or 4 years. I think at one point the drought was like 17 years.

Doesn't stop me from living in up once every 3 or 4 years.

[spursfan1000]

I have been amazed at how good the Mavs are doing this season

[mavsluva]

with da big boys. If the Mavs can stay healthy they can compete with any of the so called "contenders". Just best to avoid Golden State and New Orleans :elephant

You could say the same thing about the Cowboys but we all know that they're not winning the Superbowl this year.

[Basketballgirl25]

I have been amazed at how good the Mavs are doing this season

I'm not too amazed, they have Dirk and Kidd if they weren't doing good I'd be worried. Thunder doing well you should be amazed at.:toast

[Rummpd]

To each his own - how anyone can passionetely root for a team (even a very talented one) with that crazed/crooked owner + the law breaking/head case of Howard + Kidd's history with his spouse + that soft superstar is beyond me?

[sribb43]

Mavs have a fairly tough stretch from now till feb.1. Between know and then, I can see the mavs go 9-8 in their next 17 games which would put them at 31-17 on feb.2

[sribb43]

To each his own - how anyone can passionetely root for a team (even a very talented one) with that crazed/crooked owner + the law breaking/head case of Howard + Kidd's history with his spouse + that soft superstar is beyond me?



Pussy hurt?

[badfish22]

To each his own - how anyone can passionetely root for a team (even a very talented one) with that crazed/crooked owner + the law breaking/head case of Howard + Kidd's history with his spouse + that soft superstar is beyond me?

Spurfan ladies and Gentlemen!

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x90/fredapeople/animated/Applause-2.gif

[Killakobe81]

Mavs are doing well. One of me fellow Laker fans said the Mavs scare him MORe than the Thuggz ... high praise. Me I still think Denver is the toughest matchup out West but Mavs have been impressive...most impressive.

[sribb43]

Even though La would beat the mavs in 6 games, I would love too see this as a WCF matchup. It has been too long since these teams have met in the playoffs and is well
over due. It would bring excitment to the Dallas fan base for those who have left since the 2 recent playoff collapses

[crc21209]

Well dont look now, but every team is right "there" seeing as all teams from 2 thru 9 have either 9,10,11, or 12 losses. Sooo whats your point?

[sribb43]

Well dont look now, but every team is right "there" seeing as all teams from 2 thru 9 have either 9,10,11, or 12 losses. Sooo whats your point?

Actually 6-8 all have 13 losses

[Findog]

To each his own - how anyone can passionetely root for a team (even a very talented one) with that crazed/crooked owner + the law breaking/head case of Howard + Kidd's history with his spouse + that soft superstar is beyond me?

ok

[Findog]

Well dont look now, but every team is right "there" seeing as all teams from 2 thru 9 have either 9,10,11, or 12 losses. Sooo whats your point?

Spurs have played a very home-heavy schedule so far and are only 17-11. And that includes home losses to the Junior Varsity Trail Blazers and barely beating the Pacers. Manu looks done, and both Parker and Jefferson are having trouble figuring out when to be assertive and when to defer to teammates. There's still plenty of time for the Spurs to turn things around, but they usually don't need Duncan to beast like this so early. We're seeing playoff Timmy in December and that does not bode well for the rest of the season if he has to do this much heavy lifting so soon.

[dav4463]

Mavs are always "right there". It is "regular season" you know. Mavs have always been a great "regular season" team.

[Ghazi]

lol @ the butthurt Spurs fans. Dallas has a better record than the Spurs thus far despite a more difficult schedule and less home games... and Dallas can beat teams above .500.

[Ghazi]

This Mavs team is different than Mavs teams of years past. Fuck yall that give the "regular season" bullshit. It isn't as if the Mavs are trying harder than the Spurs.

Spurs have looked better lately but against weak competition. They have 0 wins this month against teams above .500. I won't count them out yet but until they beat elite teams at an above average clip they shouldn't be considered a contender.

Mavs are 10-5 or so against +.500 teams and have an excellent road record and top 5 in defensive efficiency, 22-9 overall good for 2nd in West even with quite a few problems (injuries to Howard/Damp/Marion... JET struggling... etc) yet some cucks on here will still discredit what the Mavs have done... it can all go South from here, who knows... but up until now I'm proud of the resiliency our boys in blue have shown :).

[HarlemHeat37]

Mavs are a great team, but it's just difficult to believe in them based on their past..I'm not trying to bait or troll anybody, it's just tough to imagine them as a contender considering what they usually go through in the playoffs..btw, the Mavs are better than the Spurs right now, so don't waste your time thinking I'm going to care if that's how you reply..

again, not trying to bait or insult anybody, it's just tough to believe in them..shit, I hope anybody beats LA, Dallas included..

[HarlemHeat37]

Mavs are a great team, but it's just difficult to believe in them based on their past..I'm not trying to bait or troll anybody, it's just tough to imagine them as a contender considering what they usually go through in the playoffs..btw, the Mavs are better than the Spurs right now, so don't waste your time thinking I'm going to care if that's how you reply..

again, not trying to bait or insult anybody, it's just tough to believe in them..shit, I hope anybody beats LA, Dallas included..

[badfish22]

This is something I saw on ESPN from a Cavs blogger about the Mavs. Yes I said a Cavs blogger, the man seems to know more about the Mavs then the entire DMN staff combined.


JK: Dallas has a ton of talent, Dirk is right up there with the best players in the league, and the team defends. My caveat would be that they're thinner than people think, and much more dependent on Dirk. As of December 26th, Dallas was +11.6 points per 100 possessions with Dirk on the floor and a stunning -16.5 points per 100 with Dirk on the bench. As bad as LeBron and Kobe's benches are, their teams are only -8 when they sit, to offer some perspective.

A lot of that has to do with Drew Gooden; Gooden's plus-minus is -23.1, and as someone who's watched a good deal of Gooden in his life, I can tell you that's not random noise. Drew Gooden is the anti-Battier. I'm also not a huge J.J. Barea fan. He's fun to watch and works fairly well with Kidd offensively, but I believe you were the one who said he plays defense "like a man frantically searching for his car keys," and the plus-minus numbers support the theory that Barea's somewhat of a defensive liability. Dallas can play with anyone, especially when Dirk's on the floor, and if they do something to get a better backup for Dirk than Gooden and hide Barea's defense a little better (maybe play more Beaubois, who's gone through growing pains and will probably continue to do so, but has lockdown defensive potential), I'd call them a true force to be reckoned with in the West. If not, I'd say they have a solid puncher's chance of knocking the Lakers off their Western Conference throne. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11864/seven-questions-for-2010

Can't agree more. Someone get this man to Dallas.



Here is the other bloggers post about the Mavs from the same link, which I also agree with.


KA: Little known fact: Of the 50 5-man units that have played together the most this season, two of the top three in overall efficiency belong to the Dallas Mavericks (http://basketballvalue.com/topunits.php?year=2009-2010&sortnumber=3&sortorder=DESC). Whether it's Jason Terry or J.J. Barea at the shooting guard, the Mavs' big names are absolutely crushing their opponents on both ends of the floor. Dallas is a Top 5 defensive squad and features one of the game's great shotmakers in Dirk Nowitzki. They also have tremendous flexibility to match up with opponents on either end. They can play old-school or new-school. Want to tease the Mavs with small ball? That's fine, because they're perfectly good going with three guards and moving Shawn Marion and Nowitzki into the frontcourt. Want to try to outmuscle them? Erick Dampier may have an outsized contract, but he's also one of the better basket protectors and garbage collectors in the league. Opponents shoot a measly 57.4 percent at the rim against the Mavs -- only Boston, Cleveland and San Antonio are better.

More than anything, the Mavs strike me as a team composed of professionals. These are serious basketball players led by a serious coach. Is it possible that a squad with so many thirtysomethings breaks down physically over the course of an 82-game season? Perhaps. But where some see brittleness, I see experience. In fact, I see shades of the best San Antonio Spurs squads. I see a team that truly understands its collective talents and limitations and puts a premium on execution.

Can they compete with the Lakers in late May? I'm not sure anyone in the Western Conference can, but Dallas -- with its length, smarts, and perimeter prowess -- might just be the toughest competition the Lakers encounter.