I'm calling it now...

[Phillip]

who sits crunchtime... butler jet or matrix

depends on needs.

offense, butler and jet

defense, butler and matrix

jet and matrix shouldnt both be out there though unless the mavs had a good reason to go small with dirk at C, or someone fouled out

[HarlemHeat37]

The best hope for opposing fans is that the Lakers ego problems come through or that they don't fix their current lineup..

They aren't going to win a le with their current starting lineup IMO..Gasol-Odom is a much better frontcourt than Gasol-Bynum..the Lakers will be much better if they switch to that lineup, and there have been rumors that Laker assistant coaches have tried to get PJ to switch it around..the problem with that is that there is a legit chance that Bynum acts like a baby if he is benched, and he's an important part of their team, so his game might suffer mentally(his actual game would probably prosper since he would be the clear #1 option off the bench)..

There's also the Fisher factor..the other Laker PGs are inconsistent too, but Fisher is obviously horrible at this point..if they bench him, they SHOULD be better(obviously not for sure, since I don't know if I would trust Farmar and Brown at PG), but there might be locker room problems if they bench Fisher too(I imagine they've obviously noticed that Fisher is a liability and would have already benched him by now, so I doubt they will at this point)..

There's also the issue with their 3-point shooting, the bench, injuries and Gasol's inconsistency..

Talent-wise, the Lakers have the best team in the NBA(which is why they still have an elite record, despite so many problems), but they have many problems(most of them are fixable though)..so let's hope they don't fix these issues..

[Findog]

The best hope for opposing fans is that the Lakers ego problems come through or that they don't fix their current lineup..

They aren't going to win a le with their current starting lineup IMO..Gasol-Odom is a much better frontcourt than Gasol-Bynum..the Lakers will be much better if they switch to that lineup, and there have been rumors that Laker assistant coaches have tried to get PJ to switch it around..the problem with that is that there is a legit chance that Bynum acts like a baby if he is benched, and he's an important part of their team, so his game might suffer mentally(his actual game would probably prosper since he would be the clear #1 option off the bench)..

There's also the Fisher factor..the other Laker PGs are inconsistent too, but Fisher is obviously horrible at this point..if they bench him, they SHOULD be better(obviously not for sure, since I don't know if I would trust Farmar and Brown at PG), but there might be locker room problems if they bench Fisher too(I imagine they've obviously noticed that Fisher is a liability and would have already benched him by now, so I doubt they will at this point)..

There's also the issue with their 3-point shooting, the bench, injuries and Gasol's inconsistency..

Talent-wise, the Lakers have the best team in the NBA(which is why they still have an elite record, despite so many problems), but they have many problems(most of them are fixable though)..so let's hope they don't fix these issues..

Good post. Fisher and Bynum would be better against other team's second units. The Rockets nearly pulled off the upset last year because Brooks raped Fisher repeatedly. If I were the Lakers, I'd probably start Farmar in the playoffs and use Fisher in crunchtime, since he does have a history of making big shots. I don't think they're beating Cleveland in the Finals, but I do think they'll probably make it out of the West. Denver has the best chance of toppling them, but I don't think Fuehrer Stern wants to miss out on a Kobe-Bron Finals.

[mavsfan1000]

how was terry playing out of his mind? he was hitting wide open shots. shots he is SUPPOSED to hit.

not to mention the mavericks missed two very key players in butler and dampier. so for every excuse the lakers have, the mavs have one, so it evens out. it was a fantastic win, and this prediction isnt based solely on last night game. i already felt that this trade made them capable of competing for a le, and the way they have been playing so far, including last night, solidifies my thoughts.

moron bulls fan

Listen . Who the are you to be talking to me like that? Anytime Terry goes off, the mavs usually win. Unfortunately, he doesn't usually have games like this. Everyone knows that Terry is a scrub some nights and a superstar others.

[IronMexican]

cat fight

[Edward]

cat fight

I guess when you lose fights to people in wheelchairs like Phillip does, you need to resort to picking fights with people like Mavsfan1000 who have had severe dementia eat away at their brain.

[Phillip]

I love in my ass

fixed

[Phillip]

I guess when you lose fights to people in wheelchairs like Phillip does, you need to resort to picking fights with people like Mavsfan1000 who have had severe dementia eat away at their brain.

Says the Steven Hawking wannabe thats too stupid to know how to get up and walk. Go your sister who just got finished ing your brother.

[badfish22]

Mavs Have the Firepower to Compete With Lakers





It's just not cool to say that a single regular-season game has much meaning, not in an 82-game schedule with the playoffs looming.

But this one did.

Much like the Magic beating the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the week, the Mavericks whipping the Los Angeles Lakers decisively Wednesday night was more than a little significant, proving that it's far too early to plan for that much-anticipated NBA Finals of LeBron vs. Kobe.

Don't even bet on it now.

Just when you thought everything had fallen into place, that the Lakers would walk into the Finals to defend their le, the Mavs reminded everyone why they made that trade at the All-Star break.

This is their time. Without saying too much, they believe the Lakers are beatable now in a best-of-seven series.

"It's going to be a very interesting series (with the Lakers),'' newly acquired center Brendan Haywood told FanHouse last week. "I can't wait.''

Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson were added in a brilliant trade from Washington, giving them just the right pieces to counter the supposedly-unbeatable Lakers.

Butler didn't even play Wednesday, but Stevenson did, and he pestered Kobe Bryant enough to throw him off his game, which throws off the Lakers world. Stevenson isn't about to call himself a Kobe stopper, but he has just enough irreverence that he enjoys pushing his bushy beard into Kobe's face.

And Bryant doesn't like it. You could see it Wednesday night. Unlike a lot of guys who try to guard Bryant, Stevenson isn't intimidated.

Somewhere in the new schemes of under-rated coach Rick Carlisle, the Mavs have found the key to slowing Kobe. In his four games against them this season -- a 2-2 split -- Bryant has averaged only 16.3 points, while shooting 40 percent. He may have torched them in the past, but not now, not recently.

If that's not proof the Mavs can win against the Lakers, then the rest of the roster is.

Haywood gives then the veteran center -- more mobile than Erick Dampier -- who can negate LA's Andrew Bynum. In Dirk Nowitzki, they already have a power forward much better than LA's Pau Gasol. And in the battle of the old-time point guards, Jason Kidd can beat Derek Fisher every time. The matchup at small forward -- Ron Artest against Shawn Marion -- is a wash.

Yes, the Lakers have Lamar Kardashian in reserve, but the Mavs have a more explosive sixth man in veteran Jason Terry, who ran rings around the Lakers Wednesday night. The addition of Butler and Stevenson actually has helped him focus.

The Mavs (37-21) are playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time, riding a five-game winning streak going into Atlanta Friday night. Another win there will just further the belief that they have become the chosen team.

They are loaded with scorers, but their defense has been even better. The Lakers were the sixth consecutive team that failed to reach 100 points against the Mavs, joining good offensive teams like the Suns, Magic and Thunder.

Before they can see the Lakers at the Western Conference final, the Mavs must first get past the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz and all the other contenders out West.

Yet none of them are daunting to the Mavs, anymore.

There is a maturity and confidence now about the Mavs -- which might have been helped by the departure of the unpredictable Josh Howard -- that is unmistakable.

Nowitzki remains haunted -- and focused -- by the failure of 2006, when they led the Miami Heat, 2-0, in the NBA Finals, only to lose the next four games.

It's something that clearly has stuck with him, pestered him ever since. In an interview earlier this season with FanHouse, Nowitzki admitted that his great career will be marked by that failure -- unless he can bring the first NBA le to Dallas in the future.

For him, that future could be this season.

[cobbler]

0 for 29

[cobbler]

Much like the Magic beating the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the week, the Mavericks whipping the Los Angeles Lakers decisively Wednesday night was more than a little significant, proving that it's far too early to plan for that much-anticipated NBA Finals of LeBron vs. Kobe.

Decisively?

[badfish22]

[djohn2oo8]

Decisively?

[cobbler]

I suppose you consider a game where a 3 pointer taken with 50 seconds in left to tie is a decisive win.

[mavsfan1000]

fixed

Some newbie with a big mouth. I'm not a homer. I'm a realist. Seems to be a dying breed these days.

[MavDynasty]

thats stretch

[redzero]

[dirk4mvp]

lol hornets

[redzero]

lol hornets

[4chan]

>implying i wont knock you out with my schlong

[redzero]

I'm guessing that dirk4mvp and 4chan are same ging it up.

[dirk4mvp]

TBH the guy who's troll that is told me he was about to post with him.

[redzero]

[4chan]

[redzero]

I find it odd that after the two times 4chan posted, neither he nor dirk4mvp was under the active user list.