Ummmm..... what?? You seriously want to face Popovich in a 7 game series when Dallas is in disarray? I wouldn't overthink this.
I think our best bets in order goes like this: Dallas, Portland, OKC, Clippers, San Antonio, Grizz and then GSW. And I think teams 2, 3, 4 and 5 are pretty close but the Rocks can beat all of them. Dallas would be the easiest for any team to advance to round 2.
[Knee-jerk to one night] A [semi-]vintage Rondo tonight & Parsons playing well too. Rondo-Ellis doesn't really match-up and Dallas will have to make a decision on who, if either, to pay/keep.
It's kind of funny how I'm much more confident playing both Rondo and Ellis, but if it's just one or the other, the Mavs are a lot more formidable. Those two are just an awful fit together.
Rondo will make the decision for them when he leaves. Monta could also bolt. It won't be the Mavs decision on either guy unless they offer more money than other teams can pay (which ain't gonna happen).
I would agree with this if we were in 2006 or 2007 when Dirk was in his prime. But he's old now, he's not the same he was before and the Mavs aren't that good and scary. The Rockets can take them.
Dallas is in okc on Wednesday; huge implications there now that there's only 3 games of distance between them