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Old 07-20-2008, 09:28 PM   #165
Izulde
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
I look at Dallas's 64-18 regular season record and I see a paper tiger. We swept them two years ago and beat them in seven games last year and we're a hell of a lot better than we were last season and the Mavericks aren't.

Preview:

"For the third straight season, the Nuggets and the Mavericks are meeting in the playoffs. Two years ago, it was a Denver sweep. Last season, a full-tilt contest that ran the full seven before the Nuggets prevailed again. Is this the year Dallas finally turns the tables?

Not so fast.

The hourglass is running out for Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki, who are 35 and 34 respectively. Terry signed a one-year deal to stay in Dallas, spurning lucrative offers to gear up for one more run. There's a growing feeling within the Mavericks organization that if they don't get it done this year or next, the window of opportunity will have run out for these two high-quality veterans.

On the other side, George Karl is still coaching for another contract extension as GM Jestor remained non-commital even after the opening round victory over the Spurs and Al Thornton must start producing if he doesn't want to be traded in the offseason.

Point Guard
Paulinho Buboltz vs. Jason Terry
Buboltz showed during the opening round that it doesn't matter what height his opposing man is, he'll still play like he's the biggest point guard on the court. Paulinho averaged 18.2 points, 2nd on the team, with 9.2 assists and 1.5 steals against the Spurs and he has an excellent 4.2 A/TO ratio thus far in the playoffs. More importantly, he showed he can pick up the scoring slack when Ben Gordon is struggling.

Terry had his worst scoring season as a pro in the regular season with a 16.6 points per game average, but he rebounded in a big way against the Grizzlies, averaging 20.3 points, 8.8 assists and a steal with a 4.8 A/TO ratio. He may have regressed, but he's still an upper-echelon PG who has the defensive skills to try and contain Buboltz.

Advantage: Draw

Shooting Guard
Ben Gordon vs. Josh Howard
It took Gordon a few games to come untracked against the Spurs, but when he finally did, he did so brilliantly enough to emerge with a team-high 20.5 point per game average. He's not Allen Iverson, but on this team he doesn't have to be.

Howard is what he is: an underachiever who still manages to make his presence felt on the court. He's another 6'7 SG for Gordon to go up against, but on the bright side, he's not quite as good a defender as Joe Johnson is and he's not half the shooter of the Spurs guard. He's averaging 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists after the first round.

Advantage: Denver

Small Forward
Mehmet Okur vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Okur was the biggest surprise of the opening round and one of the main reasons why the Nuggets are here in the second round. After some initial struggles playing the SF position he's adapted well and really took it to the Spurs in the first round, averaging 13.5 points and 11.2 rebounds. Don't look for him to have the same kind of success against the Mavericks, though.

That's not to say Nowitzki will totally shut Okur down. The 7', 245 lb. 34 year old is now widely considered a mediocre defender and nowhere near as good a rebounder as he used to be. That said, Nowitzki is still one of the best shooters and scorers in the league and he averaged 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks against Memphis.

Advantage: Dallas

Power Forward
Emeka Okafor vs. Daniel Wilder
Was Okafor the reason for the Bobcats' stunning successes year in and year out in the playoffs? Hard to say for sure, but the Bobcats were upset by the Hawks in the first round, while Okafor played terrifically in averaging 11.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks against San Antonio. More significantly, he frustrated Tim Duncan all series long, despite giving up a lot of height and weight to the long-time Spur.

Wilder is certainly no Duncan, not even a 36-year old Duncan. The 22 year old fourth-year is a largely mediocre player with horrendous free-throw shooting and rebounding that isn't quite as good as it should be. He was last and least of the Mavericks starters against the Grizzlies, averaging just 3.5 points with 4.2 rebounds. Yes, a large part of it was having to go against Pau Gasol, but Okafor isn't going to be any easier a matchup and all signs point to another long, rough series for the Dallas PF.

Advantage: Denver

Center
Dan Jacobson vs. Jonte Jones
"It's tough. It's tough to go in there and have to be the guy as a rookie, even your second or third year in the league when you're not used to the playoff atmosphere. Night in and night out against the best of the NBA, it's just real tough." No, that wasn't Jacobson, but Jones earlier this week in discussing what it's like to be the hotshot young center on a team with title hopes. Such would explain why Jacobson didn't dominate as expected in the first round, although he did average 11.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks to largely exorcise the demons of his 2.5 point performance as a Wizards rookie. He plays great defense and is a textbook rebounder and his 7'3, 290 lb body is going to be a huge obstacle for Jones to work around.

Jones has gradually emerged as one of the NBA's top centers of any age and he had a major coming-out party against Memphis with 25.2 points, 16 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. As good as Jacobson is at rebounding, Jones just happens to be the best in the league, even better than a certain Mr. Greg Oden. He's also a better than average, but not great defender, with good shot-blocking and stealing technique. He's also one of the best in the game at drawing fouls, which spells trouble for the Nuggets, who simply don't have a viable center option outside of Jacobson.

Advantage: Dallas

Bench
Rookie Duez Walker averaged a good 7.5 points off the bench against San Antonio, but the rest of the second unit was largely unimpressive.

Jeff Green averaged 8.7 points versus Memphis with 5.7 rebounds and Devin Harris showed good ball skills in averaging 5.5 points and 5.7 assists. Mike Patterson averaged 5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 15 minutes a game.

Advantage: Dallas

Final Thoughts
Jones has escalated himself to superstar level and we're talking Andrew Bynum kind of superstardom for a center. If he can get Jacobson into foul trouble, this series gets a lot more even, which otherwise favors the Nuggets' offensive balance and excellent defenders. It's going to be a close one and we predict this is finally the year Dallas gets the mile-high monkey off its back.
Prediction: Mavericks in 7"

Well, that's a little surprising, but they're right in that Jones really has reached that elite level and can make this a long series for us. I still have faith we can pull it out, though.

Game One
Hello rude awakening. Joakim Noah and Leroy Wright get 10 points off the bench, but Dallas played like they were the defensive team, not us. Jonte Jones ripped us apart for 25 points and 11 rebounds, Josh Howard channeled Ben Gordon in scoring 29 points and Jeff Green led the bench with 11 points in the slaughter.
Denver 93 Dallas 110

Game Two
Ben Gordon scores 40, Joakim Noah and Leroy Wright have 10 points and a double-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds off the bench respectively, but that's it. Is it enough? Dirk Nowitzki scores 28, Daniel Wilder has 13 points and 10 rebounds, Jonte Jones 28 points and 6 steals and Devin Harris 12 bench points. No it's not enough and things are suddenly looking very bad for us.
Denver 117 Dallas 128

Game Three
We're done. That's all I can say after this god damned frustrating as fuck 3-point loss when we fucking melt down and blow a lead to be outscored 29-20 at home. Who cares about Ben Gordon's 29 points, Emeka Okafor's 18 points and 12 rebounds and Duez Walker's 12 reserve points? Dirk Nowitzki scores 26 and Mike Patterson had 10 bench points. We had no fucking business losing this game, absolutely none at all. I'll fire George Karl's ass if we get swept.
Dallas 99 Denver 96

Game Four
Pathetic. Fucking pathetic. Joakim Noah our best guy with 11 bench points.Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jonte Jones combine for 24 points, 23 points and 23 points and 22 rebounds. Karl's ass is out of here.
Dallas 106 Denver 98

There's no way in hell we should've been swept by the Mavericks. I'm firing the whole god-damned staff tomorrow.
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