http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...dmoore/stories/042005dnspomoore.2abe2dda.html Coaches' game is starting Van Gundy bemoans Rockets' playoff chances against mighty Mavs 11:35 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 The Mavericks are feeling good about themselves these days. Jeff Van Gundy wants them to feel even better. The Houston coach holds the majority opinion that San Antonio is the favorite to emerge from the Western Conference. But he believes too many people have discounted what Dallas, Phoenix and Seattle have done. Especially the Mavericks. "I think Dallas is the most under-talked about team in the NBA," Van Gundy said. "I think anybody who doesn't think they can win it ¡V not win a series, not win the West, but win it ¡V is not watching. "They have great balance. They can score, they can defend and they can rebound. Other than that, they don't do a whole lot well. Just like San Antonio. I just think those teams can beat you in a lot of different ways and have great depth." Van Gundy is already in playoff form. The idea is to stake out the middle ground for yourself and elevate the expectations ¡V and hopefully egos ¡V of your first-round opponent. It should be pointed out that Van Gundy praised the Mavericks before his team locked down the No. 5 seed. But it should also be pointed out that this is the same coach who emerged after a 28-point win over Denver the other night and declared he was disappointed with how the Rockets played in the first quarter. Avery Johnson is new to the coaching ranks, but he's not new to this playoff game. The Mavericks coach laughed, and then took the offensive ¡V or is it the defensive? ¡V after being told about Van Gundy's remarks. "I don't know about winning the title," Johnson said. "How can we win a title when we're only playing them in the first round? And I don't know about comparing us to San Antonio. Defensively, with a lot of the stuff Houston is doing, I don't even know if we're on that level, yet. They have a lot of good things going for them. "No one has really picked us to win the series. So I guess we're going in as underdogs, no matter what our seeding is." Now that both coaches have taken their turn at the poor-me podium, let's focus on the biggest obstacle the Rockets have to winning this series. He's 7-foot tall and averaged 34.3 points and 11 rebounds against Houston in the regular season. Without Juwan Howard, the Rockets don't have anyone to guard Dirk Nowitzki. Houston will try to neutralize Nowitzki with a rotation of Clarence Weatherspoon, Scott Padgett and Ryan Bowen. They might stand a better chance with Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie and Kimberly Stewart. Steve Nash is a Most Valuable Player candidate in Phoenix. If you buy that theory, and Van Gundy does, you must include Nowitzki in the same argument. "To me, that tells you a lot about Nowitzki," Van Gundy said. "He should be in the talk about Most Valuable Player. If you lose an MVP candidate [Nash] and win more games, that says a lot about the best player who is still there." These teams should create more sparks than any other first-round series. No team has been hotter than the Mavericks down the stretch. But Houston is 17-6 since beating the Mavs on March 6. Houston has won six straight, outscoring opponents by an average of 14.6 points. The Rockets beat Phoenix, Seattle, Memphis and Denver in a span of eight days. But why should Van Gundy mention that when he can fawn over the Mavericks? E-mail dmoore@dallasnews.com
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