Loved the ESPN article about the Mavs nearly always losing when Crawford officiates. I've never seen a more obvious smoke screen. The cynic in me is really starting to turn from this league. If the Rockets could just devolve to full on Timberwolves mode, I could finally convince myself that the whole thing is rigged and change the channel for good. Portland wasn't great, but you get enough absurd offensive fouls called and it can really take the wind out of your sails. ****ing Mavs.
You have a point, but when Jason Kidd turns into Ray Allen your in trouble. The only answer is Brandon Roy broke knees and all.
Dirk is Dirk and Peja had his best game in about five years. Dallas is gong to win this series, probably in five. Portland needs another piece -- a peimeter go-to guy. They had it in Roy but that was before his knees bummed out.
It's less that and more Kidd's bringing it for a final time these playoffs and the Blazers will not guard Peja for some reason. If the Mavs play like this, LA will annihlate them. I know we make fun of Fisher, but Kidd's probably the one PG he can guard and prevent this from happening, and they have no one who can deal with Kobe..
It goes both ways. Kidd also gets torched by the likes of CP3, Billups, and Tony Parker. Fisher is probably the one PG Kidd can guard. Also, the Mavs have Marion, Stevenson, and Brewer to put on Kobe. Obviously, Kobe is always going to get his - but you can make him work harder for it. Not to mention they have three 7'0 ft players to match up with the Laker frontline (Chandler, Haywood, and Nowitzki). Plus they also seem really pissed that the entire national media wrote them off to lose in the first round. They will come to play against the Lakers.
How the Mavs do against LA will depend on Dirk and Terry. As much as I hate Dirk, I have seen him go toe-to-toe with Duncan in a playoff series and come out on top. He has it in him to be dominant. I have no clue why he chooses not to be at times. Gasol is going to have to defend that series, and extend his defense to the perimiter. The Mavs at least have some legit 7 footers to battle Bynum. That's a far cry from say, the last two postseasons where LA rarely saw a team with a legit 7 footer. And IIRC, Kobe checks Kidd and Fisher checks Terry. I don't think they want Kobe running around chasing Terry all game. If Terry actually plays then he can help. I don't think the Mavs will beat LA because they seem mentally weak, but they certainly have the talent to do so.
Dallas held serve which is what they were supposed to do. Portland will do the same and tie the series up 2-2 and turn it into a 3 game series at which point I'm not sure what will happen but I hope the Mavs choke and Blazers can figure it out. This series reminds me of when we faced the Mavs in the 04-05 season. Dirk raining jumpers from everywhere, Mavs getting favorable calls and flopping all over the place.
I don't think it's Dallas-hate because the general consensus on other forums has also been to pick Portland. They are the "flavor of the month" because they have a lot of name players and a good coach. However, they really aren't that great. Wallace is overrated. Miller is slow. Roy is done (which is really sad because he had such a bright future). Camby has always put up good stats without impacting the game. They are missing backups at almost every position. Their offense relies on transition baskets which tend to disappear in the playoffs as teams figure out the gimmick. And they haven't even won a playoff series with anyone on the current team. I believe the last win was when they made it to the WCF in 2000.
Goodness, Roy is kind of a b!tch, he's crying about his playing time and how he's disappointed at how he's being treated. In the middle of a playoff series? Really?
