Mavs vs Rockets

[Emerson1]

Tonight @ 7 in Dallas.

Utah lost to the LALs last night, so Dallas is guranteed at least the 7th seed. If Dallas wins and NO loses, Dallas will get the 6th seed.

Dallas really doesn't have that much to play for because it's still completely up in the air what seeds 2-5 will be. They sat Josh Howard out last game and might as well do the same for this game and get him ready for the playoffs.

Houston has everything to play for including the SW Division title. I could see Houston making a run and Carlilse calling off the dogs and letting Green and Carroll get some PT.

[crzyjournalist03]

Could be a weird game in that both teams secretly hope to meet each other in the playoffs.

I know that Dallas would rather face Houston than Denver, but I'd imagine Houston would rather face Dallas than New Orleans.

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Could be a weird game in that both teams secretly hope to meet each other in the playoffs.

I know that Dallas would rather face Houston than Denver, but I'd imagine Houston would rather face Dallas than New Orleans.

Most Houston fans, including myself, would rather face New Orleans. Houston has played the Hornets very well this season and just recently held them to 66 points. Both Dallas & NO don't really have a big man to match up with Yao, but the Mavs have more offensive weapons.

Just curious, but why would the Mavs rather play Houston than Denver? I would think the Mavs match up better with the Nuggets.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Originally posted by Bull's-eye
Most Houston fans, including myself, would rather face New Orleans. Houston has played the Hornets very well this season and just recently held them to 66 points. Both Dallas & NO don't really have a big man to match up with Yao, but the Mavs have more offensive weapons.

Just curious, but why would the Mavs rather play Houston than Denver? I would think the Mavs match up better with the Nuggets.

I'd rather see Denver, personally. No stats, no proof, nothing to back it up; I just feel that we can do something against them.

[jason]

mavs are 0-4 vs denver this season...

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Originally posted by jason
mavs are 0-4 vs denver this season...

And Houston has never gotten out of the 1st round since TMac has been a member.


My point? They're due....

[Emerson1]

Dallas has lost three of those games by 3 or less points. Howard didn't play in 2, had 15 minutes in one, and Kidd missed one.

That was months ago and both teams have completely changed

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by jason
mavs are 0-4 vs denver this season...

The Mavs lost 3 games to Denver by a combined total of 7 points. The only game they defeated the Rockets, there was no Yao Ming, no Battier and two hobbled players in T-Mac & Artest.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by BreckTxLonghorn
And Houston has never gotten out of the 1st round since TMac has been a member.


My point? They're due.... T-Mac is out for the year and not even listed on the roster...so maybe, just maybe we have a chance this year. ;)

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Bull's-eye
Most Houston fans, including myself, would rather face New Orleans. Houston has played the Hornets very well this season and just recently held them to 66 points. Both Dallas & NO don't really have a big man to match up with Yao, but the Mavs have more offensive weapons.

Just curious, but why would the Mavs rather play Houston than Denver? I would think the Mavs match up better with the Nuggets.

See, I don't really follow basketball much, so I wasn't familiar with Houston's games against New Orleans.

I just figured that most people around the NBA view New Orleans as more dangerous than Dallas because of what Chris Paul is capable of and the fact that they gained a lot of valuable experience last year while Dallas just rolled over and played dead.

[Farmersfan]

It doesn't really matter because the Mavs will get swept regardless of who they play........... And I'm a mav's fan!!!:( :(

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
It doesn't really matter because the Mavs will get swept regardless of who they play........... And I'm a mav's fan!!!:( :(

one who must not have watched the last few weeks..not saying Dallas wins 1st round, but no team 2-7 imo will sweep Dallas in a play-off series..win a series agianst Dallas, ys, but only the Lakers IMO could sweep Dallas

[I. B. Watching]

I just like beating the Rockets. They used to be a non-issue but evidently beating Dallas in anything is a big deal in Houston. GO MAVS!!!

[waterboy]

I just hope the Mavs that played against the Hornets in New Orleans Sunday, and the Mavs that played against the Timberwolves Monday doesn't rear it's ugly head again.:( If that teams shows up tonight it'll get ugly. They can't afford to go 7-1/2 minutes without a field goal in this one like they did in the Minnesota game. They missed a whole BUNCH of layups and point-blank shots.:dispntd:

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by waterboy
I just hope the Mavs that played against the Hornets in New Orleans Sunday, and the Mavs that played against the Timberwolves Monday doesn't rear it's ugly head again.:( If that teams shows up tonight it'll get ugly. They can't afford to go 7-1/2 minutes without a field goal in this one like they did in the Minnesota game. They missed a whole BUNCH of layups and point-blank shots.:dispntd:
And they still stayed withing fighting distance. 9/10 nights those shots will fall

[waterboy]

Originally posted by Emerson1
And they still stayed withing fighting distance. 9/10 nights those shots will fall
That's true. They actually still won the Minnesota game, but they definitely struggled from the field. That's been their biggest downfall this year, cold spells. Although, take away the last two games and they were shooting the ball at a torrid pace -- 50+%.

[Emerson1]

They still shot like 45%. Their problem was defense, Minnesota was draining their 3s

[Bull's-eye]

Those teams from 2-8 are all very good, with not much separation in talent. The one thing that stands out is the way those teams match up against each other. The Rockets did not want to play Utah, a team that gives them fits. Most Rocket fans were rooting for the Mavs & Hornets to stay ahead of the Jazz. Houston has done very well against NO, Portland & Denver, so these may be their prefered opponents in the playoffs. I would love to get the #2 seed, but being #3 and playing the Hornets may be the better option. Dallas has been playing great basketball in the final two weeks, so avoiding them would be my preference.

[Txbroadcaster]

The Mavs biggest problem is After Dirk, Howard and Terry they dont have legit scoring threats. If those three are on 4 games out of 7 they can truly beat almost anyone in the league. But if that group is misfiring they will lose.

If they do win a play-off series it would not shock me to see them lose one or two of the games by 15 or more, because they have games where it just seems everything falls apart, but they always seem to rebound the next game and play well

I honestly thought the NO game sunday was a GOOD loss...They stayed with NO shot for shot on the road and could have won

[Emerson1]

I don't think any of the teams wants to go and play at Utah where they will more then likely get screwed by the refs.

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by Emerson1
I don't think any of the teams wants to go and play at Utah where they will more then likely get screwed by the refs.

:iagree: What's so odd is they have the largest differential of any team when comparing home and road records. This has been going on for years!

[I. B. Watching]

Woohoo. Great win. I'm going to the Angry Dog

[zebrablue2]

looks to be a 5 seed for the rockets. 1 and done again, according to how they played on the road this season. hope they prove me wrong...

[Bull's-eye]

I knew it would be difficult to win this game. Terry & Dirk were shooting lights out and Dallas figured how to front Yao with Bass. Ron Artest has been terrible in the last couple of weeks and he can be a major cancer when his shot isn't falling. Scola had a tough time guarding Dirk and really couldn't get going on the offensive side. Brooks struggled shooting didn't help matters, but give Dallas credit, they made the defensive adjustments and denied Yao the ball in the 2nd half.

[Farmersfan]

I think this thing has played out perfectly for Dallas. Of all the first round matchups S.A. is probably the best one for the Mavs. One question I have for everyone is about the refs not giving JJ Barea any respect. He draws charges against the other point guard all day long but rarely gets the call. What's up with that. Last night the refs called the Mavs on bogus charging calls about 3 times and yet JJ was run smooth over several times and got called for the foul. The Mavs will meet up with N.O. again in the second round if they beat the Spurs and if JJ can't get the calls against Chris Paul they don't stand a chance in a long series.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
I think this thing has played out perfectly for Dallas. Of all the first round matchups S.A. is probably the best one for the Mavs. One question I have for everyone is about the refs not giving JJ Barea any respect. He draws charges against the other point guard all day long but rarely gets the call. What's up with that. Last night the refs called the Mavs on bogus charging calls about 3 times and yet JJ was run smooth over several times and got called for the foul. The Mavs will meet up with N.O. again in the second round if they beat the Spurs and if JJ can't get the calls against Chris Paul they don't stand a chance in a long series.

wow...so in 24 hours, you go from proclaiming that they're getting swept regardless of who they play to discussing potential second-round troubles...

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
wow...so in 24 hours, you go from proclaiming that they're getting swept regardless of who they play to discussing potential second-round troubles...


Gee! Thanks for the heads up! I almost didn't remember what I posted yesterday...............;)
Why does my prediction of a sweep contradict talking about "best case scenerios"?????? I never said they would beat the Spurs. And I never said they would beat the Hornets in the second round either. So? Would you like to discuss the "sweep" idea or the "potential second round troubles"???? You can choose.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Finally....a playoff matchup worth watching in the first round - Mavs V Spurs! This one will go 6 or 7, mark it. Coin toss on who takes it.

[SintonFan]

Oh Lordy! I know all you Mavs fans are salivating now with the thought of playing SA. I think this will be a great series and give Dallas the edge. We don't have Manu and Timmy's knees are shot. No excuses, just my honest .02 on why I give the Mavs an edge.:nerd:

[Emerson1]

Howard is hobbled too, hurt his knee/ankle again last night and when he is out the entire thing shuts down.

[SintonFan]

Yes, but if Timmy goes down or gets worse... :( :eek: