SI.com's Jack McCallum picks the Mavs to win it all.

[flipcritic]

Let the arguments begin.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son.picks0423/

Picking the Postseason
The Pistons will coast through the East, but they will be no match for the mighty Mavericks in the Finals

With apologies to John Lennon: Imagine there's no conference/It's easy if you try.... In such a world, NBA playoff teams would be seeded 1 through 16 without regard to conference affiliation, meaning that the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks could meet the Phoenix Suns or the San Antonio Spurs (the second and third seeds, respectively) for the NBA championship. In such a world, we would not have to concern ourselves with the likes of the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic, the bottom-feeders of the (L)Eastern Conference bracket.

Alas, we do live in a world of East and West, and so, with the postseason set to begin on Saturday, two major questions loom: First, is there anyone in the East who can make the Finals besides the Detroit Pistons? (Quick answer: no.) Which is another way of asking, Can we discount the defending champion Miami Heat? (Yes.) Second, is the West, which boasts five teams that are arguably as good as the Pistons, about to embark on one of the best postseasons ever, which is to say one as good as the 2006 postseason? (Yes.)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

So can anyone beat the Pistons? Certainly not the Cleveland Cavaliers. It has become increasingly apparent that the Cavs are the closest thing the NBA has to a one-man team, and LeBron James is nowhere near the singular force Michael Jordan was in his early years. Probably not the Chicago Bulls, the conference's best team since the All-Star break, who don't have the inside presence offensively to beat Detroit. And then there's the Heat, which in recent weeks has lost to the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Bobcats (twice). That does not suggest the pedigree of a playoff team, never mind an NBA champion.

In short, the Pistons will get back to the Finals, where they beat the Lakers in 2004 and lost to the Spurs in '05. They are grumpy and sometimes downright petulant, but they get stops, they execute their half-court offense when they need to, and they pulled off the deal of the year by plucking Chris Webber from the unemployment line. Plus, they are in the East.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

The best first-round matchup is between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets. The Rockets' Tracy McGrady will finally lead a team to the second round, where the Mavericks await. Houston will be a popular upset pick against Dallas, but it's not going to happen: The Mavs are too good defensively to let McGrady and Yao Ming steal the series.

Ah, Suns-Spurs in the second round. One is tempted to say that it doesn't get any better for a conference semifinal, except that it will have to be good to top last season's San Antonio-Dallas seven-gamer. Though the Suns will have home court advantage, Tim Duncan's interior defense on Amaré Stoudemire gives the Spurs a slight edge.

Which leaves the no-holds-barred Texas showdown that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been angling for. Dallas has been the league's best team all season, and the Mavs' depth will get them by the Spurs and into their second straight championship series.

THE FINALS

Dallas in six. The hard part, after all, was getting out of the West.

[SpursDynasty]

Let the arguments begin.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...son.picks0423/

Picking the Postseason
The Pistons will coast through the East, but they will be no match for the mighty Mavericks in the Finals

With apologies to John Lennon: Imagine there's no conference/It's easy if you try.... In such a world, NBA playoff teams would be seeded 1 through 16 without regard to conference affiliation, meaning that the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks could meet the Phoenix Suns or the San Antonio Spurs (the second and third seeds, respectively) for the NBA championship. In such a world, we would not have to concern ourselves with the likes of the New Jersey Nets and the Orlando Magic, the bottom-feeders of the (L)Eastern Conference bracket.

Alas, we do live in a world of East and West, and so, with the postseason set to begin on Saturday, two major questions loom: First, is there anyone in the East who can make the Finals besides the Detroit Pistons? (Quick answer: no.) Which is another way of asking, Can we discount the defending champion Miami Heat? (Yes.) Second, is the West, which boasts five teams that are arguably as good as the Pistons, about to embark on one of the best postseasons ever, which is to say one as good as the 2006 postseason? (Yes.)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

So can anyone beat the Pistons? Certainly not the Cleveland Cavaliers. It has become increasingly apparent that the Cavs are the closest thing the NBA has to a one-man team, and LeBron James is nowhere near the singular force Michael Jordan was in his early years. Probably not the Chicago Bulls, the conference's best team since the All-Star break, who don't have the inside presence offensively to beat Detroit. And then there's the Heat, which in recent weeks has lost to the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Bobcats (twice). That does not suggest the pedigree of a playoff team, never mind an NBA champion.

In short, the Pistons will get back to the Finals, where they beat the Lakers in 2004 and lost to the Spurs in '05. They are grumpy and sometimes downright petulant, but they get stops, they execute their half-court offense when they need to, and they pulled off the deal of the year by plucking Chris Webber from the unemployment line. Plus, they are in the East.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

The best first-round matchup is between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets. The Rockets' Tracy McGrady will finally lead a team to the second round, where the Mavericks await. Houston will be a popular upset pick against Dallas, but it's not going to happen: The Mavs are too good defensively to let McGrady and Yao Ming steal the series.

Ah, Suns-Spurs in the second round. One is tempted to say that it doesn't get any better for a conference semifinal, except that it will have to be good to top last season's San Antonio-Dallas seven-gamer. Though the Suns will have home court advantage, Tim Duncan's interior defense on Amaré Stoudemire gives the Spurs a slight edge.

Which leaves the no-holds-barred Texas showdown that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been angling for. Dallas has been the league's best team all season, and the Mavs' depth will get them by the Spurs and into their second straight championship series.

THE FINALS

Dallas in six. The hard part, after all, was getting out of the West.

That whole article sounded good, but that was a flimsy analysis in the last paragraph. Spurs and Mavs, 50/50 chance to win it all. Depth (Dallas) vs defense (SA) should've been mentioned. Defense can be played any night of the year, but your bench won't always make all of their shots (Finals 2006). The Spurs beat the Spurs last year too, but enough has been said on that. I'm also disappointed that sports writers and columnists continually discount the winner of the previous year's championship, since the Lakers run ended in 2002. Spurs, Pistons, Spurs again, and the Heat = never got respected for winning their championships. Instead, Finals losers always get more respect (Lakers in 04, Pistons in 05 got more respect as the loser of the Finals rather than as the winner in 2004!, Mavs in 06). It's puzzling.

So glad the playoffs are near.

[nkdlunch]

Mavs are the easy choice. I can see them winning it all easily. BUT I can also see them choking vs. anybody easily

[DarrinS]

I think this guy did a copy-paste of his same article from last year. So much for predictions.

[FromWayDowntown]

That whole article sounded good, but that was a flimsy analysis in the last paragraph. Spurs and Mavs, 50/50 chance to win it all. Depth (Dallas) vs defense (SA) should've been mentioned. Defense can be played any night of the year, but your bench won't always make all of their shots (Finals 2006). The Spurs beat the Spurs last year too, but enough has been said on that. I'm also disappointed that sports writers and columnists continually discount the winner of the previous year's championship, since the Lakers run ended in 2002. Spurs, Pistons, Spurs again, and the Heat = never got respected for winning their championships. Instead, Finals losers always get more respect (Lakers in 04, Pistons in 05 got more respect as the loser of the Finals rather than as the winner in 2004!, Mavs in 06). It's puzzling.

So glad the playoffs are near.

Amazing that you would agree with everything except the paragraph in which he disagrees with you! I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you!

[timvp]

Based on the fact that they have HCA throughout and have played the best basketball this season, going with the Mavs to win it all isn't exactly going out on a limb. In fact, they probably have a better chance than the Spurs do just because of the HCA and the Spurs having to play the Suns on the road.

[Zarko]

Way to step out on the ledge with your picks McCallum. You mean to tell me that you think the #1 seed in the west and the #1 seed in the east should meet in the finals?

I wonder why they even play the games.

[SpursDynasty]

Amazing that you would agree with everything except the paragraph in which he disagrees with you! I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you!

I would agree if he had more than just "The Mavs have been the best all regular season long, so they'll win it".

The two best teams last year all regular season long, Spurs and Pistons, didn't even see the Finals last year.

I know these boards will be insane once the playoffs start, so I won't even be posting here during the playoffs. I'll let the Spurs do the talking with their winning. I'll be back in June to say, told you so

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

People get paid to write these things? There isn't a single thought in that article that I haven't seen written dozens of times over in the NBA forum. , there are probably a few takes in the NBA forum that say the same thing and are better written.

[SpursWoman]

SI.com's Jack McCallum picks the Mavs to win it all.

So championships are picked now, not played for? Did I miss something?


I don't disagree with it, but it sounds like pretty much every article I've read the last couple of months. No big shocker.

[Testing]

Exactly. It's easy to look at the Mavs and pick them. They aren't the most talented team in the league, IMO. Spurs, Pistons, Suns all have better individual talented players 1-7 I believe. Difference is, Mavs have a bench that's been stepping up consistently for them, while the other 3 teams don't have that.

Whoever has that one guy on the team step up and rise to the occasion will have the best chance of winning. It also helps Dallas as mentioned that they don't have to go through the Suns and the Spurs.

[Testing]

I'm still sticking with the Suns to win it all.

[Rummpd]

SI and particularily him is always wrong so this ensures a Spurs victory.

[Mixability]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here too and say that if the Spurs score more points than the Nuggets, they'll win.

[stretch]

Lakers in 04, Pistons in 05 got more respect as the loser of the Finals rather than as the winner in 2004!, Mavs in 06

Are you ing re ed? Seriously. Are you?

The Lakers in 04 were dismantled after that year. That was the year Shaq and everyone left. You must be delusional. And of course the Pistons and Mavs got respect. Because they went out and dominated the next year, playing with a passion. Its generally kind of hard to pick against a team that wins 64+ games. If the Spurs won 64+ games this year, everyone would be on their s as well. Quit whining like a little .

[stretch]

So championships are picked now, not played for? Did I miss something?

Typically, thats what we call PREDICTIONS.

[stretch]

Based on the fact that they have HCA throughout and have played the best basketball this season, going with the Mavs to win it all isn't exactly going out on a limb. In fact, they probably have a better chance than the Spurs do just because of the HCA and the Spurs having to play the Suns on the road.

And the fact that they are a better basketball team than the Spurs.

[stretch]

I'm still sticking with the Suns to win it all.

Thus proving your lack of basketball knowledge, in trusting a team that plays no defense, cant rebound, and relies on the 3-point shot more than anything else.

in' genius.

[tlongII]

The Mavs can't beat the Suns. Phoenix will have their hands full with San Antonio, but if they get by the Spurs they will win it all.

[DDS4]

And the fact that they are a better basketball team than the Spurs.

That remains to be seen. The real season just started.

[SpursDynasty]

Are you ing re ed? Seriously. Are you?

The Lakers in 04 were dismantled after that year. That was the year Shaq and everyone left. You must be delusional. And of course the Pistons and Mavs got respect. Because they went out and dominated the next year, playing with a passion. Its generally kind of hard to pick against a team that wins 64+ games. If the Spurs won 64+ games this year, everyone would be on their s as well. Quit whining like a little .

I meant beginning the 03-04 season, the Lakers were already the favorites despite SA being the champion going into the season.

The Pistons got the most respect going into the 05-06 season, despite the fact that SA was the champion going into the season.

The Mavs are the most respected team right now, while the Heat's championship last year is all but forgotten by everyone.

In other words, it should be about winning. Not about a team's at ude after losing.

It's not like I'm making all this up, right? (The rest of this post got edited, it was all talk which I'm not about to get into on a message board)

[stretch]

I meant beginning the 03-04 season, the Lakers were already the favorites despite SA being the champion going into the season.

The Pistons got the most respect going into the 05-06 season, despite the fact that SA was the champion going into the season.

The Mavs are the most respected team right now, while the Heat's championship last year is all but forgotten by everyone.

It's not like I'm making all this up, right? And I'd like to hear you call me a whiny little in person. It's easy to say stuff like that behind a keyboard.

No the Lakers got the most respect. They had previously won 3 straight les, and barely got beat by the Spurs in 02-03 while having to deal with injuries all season, and then they added Karl Malone and Gary Payton, both of which were still playing a high level of basketball.

The Pistons got respect because they won 64 games (could have won more, but didnt play as hard once things were locked up), and owned the Spurs in their two meetings. However, a LOT of people still picked the Spurs, you idiot.

The Mavs are getting respect for obvious reasons. The Heat however, have basically sucked all season.

Your stupidity is simply unmatched in this forum. No one comes CLOSE. NO ONE.

[George Gervin's Afro]

The mavs should be favored to win it all.This article should surprise no one.

[Testing]

Thus proving your lack of basketball knowledge, in trusting a team that plays no defense, cant rebound, and relies on the 3-point shot more than anything else.

in' genius.

Oh, so I guess you weren't a Mavericks fan from 1999-2004 when they played no defense, couldn't rebound, and relied on quick jump shots yet their fans still thought they could win a championship.

[SpursDynasty]

No the Lakers got the most respect. They had previously won 3 straight les, and barely got beat by the Spurs in 02-03 while having to deal with injuries all season, and then they added Karl Malone and Gary Payton, both of which were still playing a high level of basketball.

The Pistons got respect because they won 64 games (could have won more, but didnt play as hard once things were locked up), and owned the Spurs in their two meetings. However, a LOT of people still picked the Spurs, you idiot.

The Mavs are getting respect for obvious reasons. The Heat however, have basically sucked all season.

Your stupidity is simply unmatched in this forum. No one comes CLOSE. NO ONE.

Did any of those teams win the year they were favored? Nope.

Once again, I don't make this stuff up. It's observation and facts.

Seriously guys, do I sound like I pull stuff out of thin air?