I just realized with Utah losing last night Dallas doesnt really have much to play for tonight. They will be opening on the road regardless of a L or W its just a matter of playing @ houston or @ denver which the mavericks do not have control over (win tonight they play denver, lose tonight they could still play denver) The do have some on and off injury issues (josh howard) Hopefully Dallas does rest some of their guys, I dont know what carlisle (sp?) will do though if it was Avery I know he would probably rest his guys.
Josh Howard? Maybe they rest him but I doubt it. Terry could fill in for him and we all know how much we HATE him The Mavs will be trying to prove something...Ron Ron will show um who's boss!
I get the feeling Dallas would prefer to play the Spurs instead of the Nuggets, so I don't see the Mavs resting anyone other than, perhaps, Howard.
If they were as smart as Shane Battier is they would know that can't take the night off. In this crazy Western Conference you gotta go hard for 82 games.
i think they can move up to the 6th seed if they beat us tonight, so they have a lot of incentive to play hard.
if they lose, we could play them [if the nuggs lose] having said that, going into the playoffs with a loss against your opponent kinda sucks.
They won't rest their starters - it's vital to go into the playoffs with confidence - especially since they may meet the Rockets in the first round. No, they won't rest their starters, but I have an inkling that they may (perhaps unconsciously) not play with as much intensity as the Jazz are locked into 8. I think it will be a close game, with the Rockets pulling away late in the third and hanging on with a 12-15 point win.
from the smack terry and barea have been talking about us, you'd think they'd actually want to throw the game in hopes of meeting us in the 1st round
They could also be playing the Spurs if they win and NO loses. IMO opinion, it's their best matchup and I think they will be gunning for finishing number 6 by beating us. Also, Howard is listed as probable for tonight, and he's been known to pull himself out of the lineup at the last minute (sound familiar?).
they're not resting the starters.. according to eddie sefko, josh howard will be playing as well.. http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1317456.html
The only person that matters to us is Terry. They could be without Dirk and Howard and still keep it close, as long as Terry is his usual PITA.
they could potentially still play the Spurs i think. Maybe they do rest, but I doubt it. I see some of them playing fewer minutes though. I wonder who they prefer to play, the Mavs don't match up well with anyone, but they were probably guaranteed a sweep if they had played the Lakers.
Mavs prefer to play Spurs/Blazers over Rockets/ Nuggets, especially Nuggest who swept them in regular season. A win for Mavs most likely will make them avoid Denver, since Denver would have nothing to play for if Rox lost. They do have a lot to play for.
this is gonna be a hard fought game, nobody is gonna lay down. if we lose to them i will be devastated. i think if we want to get to the WCF this is a must win. hopefully it goes more or less like the lakers/j*zz last night. come on rox bring it.
I agree about AJ, but if the Mavs don't match our intensity (Morey thinks it likely we'll be the #5 seed if we lose) I can see some unusal substitutions happening in the 2nd half.
Keep in mind that if the Mavs win tonight and the Hornets lose, Dallas will be the No. 6 seed. MORE IMPORTANTLY, this also means that if both the Mavs and Hornets advance to the second round (which is definitely not out of the question), the Mavs would get HOME COURT ADVANTAGE. THAT, my friends, is definitely something worth playing for tonight.
