I'd take NO over the danger by which Kidd, Dirk and Terry provide, being counted as the underdogs after various seasons of failing to achieve the success they wanted in the playoffs.
NO by far. 1. Tyson Chandler is hurt, and when healthy, is prone to foul trouble. 2. When Chandler's out, New Orleans has this trio at center: Melvin Ely, Hilton Armstrong, and Sean Marks. 3. Peja is soft. 4. Unlike Nowitzki, Scola can match up with West quite well. 5. Brooks can keep up with Paul and not get abused physically. 6. NO's bench unit consists of one player: James Posey. 7. NO does not have a player named Jason Terry. 8. Peja is soft.
Despite historical issues, I'd have to give a slight preference to facing the mavs. I just don't think they have their mojo this year and they don't match up very well with the Yao. Both NO and Dallas present point guard issues for us, but at this point CP is head and shoulders above Kidd. I also think that during parts of the game Artest can swing to Dirk and cause him to really work much the way T-Mac did 3 seasons ago.
It would be SWEET to crush the Mavs I'm talking a 40 pt Drubbing then meet the Spazz in the 2nd round and Drub them too excise all our demons in one off season Rocket River
Dallas!!!! The only thing I hate more than the mavs is the jazz!! I live here in Fort Worth and I would love to see the Rockets school the mavs, and then talk smack to all the mavs fans.
I agree just about completely. With Terry, Howard and Dirk in the 2-3-4 spots Dallas can be particularly hard to contain. Kidd isn't scary, but he does know how to get those guys the ball. Utah also has the brutal Williams match-up versus our small points and a lot of talent and depth around him. As with Dallas, health has hurt the everyday lineup/chemistry/record, but the talent is there to compete with anyone if it comes together. Nobody should want the Blazers. Young (so some unpredictable) but loaded with fine little (Roy) and big (Alridge) options. They could be a relatively easy out if you jump on them early in the series because of stage fright--or they just might kick your butt even if you are playing decent--just look at how LA fares versus them But I like our match-ups versus NO (just focus on Paul), SA (no Manu takes out their x factor) and Denver (no elite big, over achieving year--we are their match-up nightmare with Yao on offense and Artest/Battier making Melo extra work). Good hard team defense and going to Yao a lot should do the trick on them. That may not be enough vs Utah, Port, Dal & LA--if those teams are on, our offensive execution has to be spot on and we need lots of players to step up on O.
New Orleans. At least I know CP3 won't spontaneously manifest a Client Trace on his scoring just because he's playing against us.
We can beat both of them, this wont be a problem. But so far, we have never faced Hornets before, let's break this record.. Go, Go, Go...
I'd rather to play against Hornets, Dallas has more killers than NO, just like Dirk, Josh, and Jason Terry........NO is only relied on Paul and West, and Chandler is not as powerful as before, Yao can easily beat him.
I'd rather the Mavs, given the choice. In the playoffs, games are often determined by who has the most unguardable player on the court. Sort of like NCAA Football OT, the games are closer and many are determined in the last 4 minutes where it becomes a halfcourt game. Our defense against your go-to play(er), and v.v. Chris Paul is the most likely player out of all 3 teams to take a game over, to wreck havoc in the clutch. Our defense isn't the strongest against lightning quick PGs penetrating. Chandler being out/injured obviously helps, but they never play Yao straight up. They swarm and play as physical (dirty) as they can with him with multiple defenders, and Yao has always had a tougher time against that defensive ploy than he does against a straight man defender (Dampier). We match up NICELY against the Mavs: Yao has owned them over his career. Terry isn't a terrible matchup for us, especially because he allows us to play Landry and Brooks at the same time (with Ron or Battier able to rotate on Dirk as well). Guys like Battier and Artest bother Dirk as much as anyone, and Scola is quick enough to stay with him. Kidd is not going to determine games anymore, and can not stay in front of Brooks or Landry at all. I'm not too concerned about Josh Howard vs Artest or Battier. He'll go off in one or two games, but that's all. Evan
the Hornets depend so much on 1 player that if we were in any way to contain him, a sweep is possible. their size also isn't really a threat against the rockets. The Hornets would be the ideal match we get.
Yeah, I definitely do not agree with Clutch on the Mavs being the team we most want to face. I'd definitely rather play the Nuggets, Blazers, Hornets and possibly even the Spurs minus Ginobili. Here are my matchup rankings from best to worst. 1. Blazers 2. Hornets 3. Nuggets 4/5 (tie). Spurs & Mavs 6. Jazz 7. Lakers
