Sunday Six Pack: Easter Sunday Edition

So It is Easter Sunday, time for celebration and rejoicing and what not. So here's my attempt to entertain a bit; Basketball, Football, Hockey, Baseball, Golf, and Clash of the Titans...enjoy!

EGG 1) The Spurs beat the Lakers today...honestly this was the battle of the two evils. Who did I root for? The lesser of two evils...Hades! I But, with the Spurs win it keeps them in seventh place (for the moment anyway) where they would meet Dallas if the playoffs would get here already. I could care less what happens with the Lakers. As long as they win their upcoming game against the Nuggets, I'll be happy! The Spurs however...will probably end up winning 50 games (again) which I was hoping they wouldn't. But if they don't they will surely fall to the 8th seed it seems leaving the Blazers or Thunder to be dealt with by the Mavs'...unfavorable! Especially since the Mavs' have played those teams a total of 7 times this year and won only the first two meetings with the Thunder and have one more to go against Portland who can't seem to lose to Dallas. Yikes...for once I'm pulling for the Spurs to stay wherever they will have to play the Mavs'. And since the Mavs' cannot really move up to the number 1 spot...we're hoping the Spurs end up 7th or 6th if Dallas falls to 3rd.

EGG 2) It seems this years NHL playoffs will be without the Dallas Stars once more. They lost last night to the Blues effectively eliminating them from playoff contention. Better luck next year? Better owner next year? Better management next year? Will Mike Modano retire? He's played 20 seasons...does he have anything left in the tank? I believe he will retire. I think he's come to an end that many players get to when they hit 40 years old. He produced modestly this year compared to his career with only 28 points but he played in only 56 games. There are only 3 games left this season. Modano is an all time great, his number will be retired and he will go down in history as the greatest Minnesota North/Dallas Star to have ever played. Neal Broten was great, but Modano is on a different level. He had 12 seasons in his career where he had 70 points or better. Even some of the better players only have a couple of those. He helped the Stars win The Cup in 99, and has been the only player to have been with the Stars since the 80's when they were the North Stars. It will be a very sad day for me to watch my favorite hockey player of all time, the guy I grew up trying to mimic, retire. I can't wait till Dallas gets back to being the hockey team it once was.

EGG 3) Odd moves from Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. They announced this week that they released safety Ken Hamlin which was obvious and needed...but then they did something I didn't expect and I think most people were caught off guard by this. They released left Tackle Flozell Adams. This is an extremely odd move because...false start or no false start, this guy has been a very very good lineman in the Cowboys organization for a very very long time. 12 years that Adams had been protecting Cowboy QB's...and I don't care how terrible they were...they probably looked a little better thanks to him protecting their blind side. Since swearing at Flozell for jumping off sides became a Sunday ritual the past decade I'm not sure how I'm going to vent my frustration anymore. I mean, lets face it...he's a 35 year old lineman and he was set to get paid alot of money until 2013. But I'm not sure cutting him is the right move. Don't you want to keep him there until you have a solid backup? Doug Free is not a "solid" backup...yet. He's pretty much untested. I will say this though, Jerry Jones has been getting better and better at cutting players or getting rid of guys. Remember when he used to hold on to every player he possibly could because he thought that maybe in their old age they would come on strong and win one more big one? And remember how he used to WANT to sign the "badguy" types? Like T.O. and Pacman Jones. But the last couple years he's had no problem doing the right thing, cutting old guys in favor of new talent. Like letting Miles Austin take over for T.O. and Mike Jenkins take over for Anthony Henry, and he tossed Greg Ellis in favor of Anthony Spencer. Plus he rid the team of those "badguys". So, I hope it all goes well, and I hope that Jerry has finally learned a thing or two about putting together winning teams. But one thing is for sure...they had better draft a left tackle and he better be good enough to start this season because one twisted ankle...and Tony Romo may look like David Carr for a few games.

EGG 4) The Duke Blue Devils are this years NCAA National Champions. I couldn't say that I knew it was going to happen, because my bracket this year was literally the worst ever! I had Duke in my Final Four but losing to Kentucky, and I had Kansas to win it all. How sadly I was mistaken. The fact is, I am a Duke fan, and I have always rooted for the Blue Devils. Aside from Texas A&M, Duke is my favorite college basketball team. But when the Final Four were announced I went against my better judgement and picked Butler, the underdog. And the game was quite close...they had their opportunities and let it slip away. Therefore, congratulations Duke University for winning their fourth National Championship!

EGG 5) Time for Baseball? Yes! Time for Rangers Baseball? Hopefully...! But we would be blessed on opening day as the Rangers would find a way to pull a rabbit out of a hat to beat the Blue Jays. Even though pitcher Shaun Marcum pitched a beautiful first 6 innings for the Jays, Vladamir Guerrero would play spoiler to his no-hitter attempt, followed by a three run game tying homer in the 7 from Nellie Cruz. The Jays however would take a 4-3 lead to the bottom of the ninth. But Micheal Young wouldn't go down without a fight. I mean, it was opening day in front of the 8th largest crowd in Ballpark history at 50,300 people. The Captain would double to lead off the comeback, followed by Guerrero getting on base and pushing Young to third. But Nelson Cruz would be the hero again; with only one out he hit an RBI single sending Young in to tie it up 4-4. Then a couple batters later Saltalamaccia hit his first career walk-off shot to satisfy fifty thousand fans. Good times at the Ballpark. Perhaps this was an indicator of things to come...hopefully!

EGG 6) This weekend brings with it 28 of the final 47 NBA games, 14 of which should be extremely meaningful and exciting, 9 of those impact the Mavs' and their playoff seeding directly, 2 of those are Mavs' games; one @Portland on Friday night and the other Saturday night @Sacramento. The Mavs' have lost all three games to Portland so far this season and have not faired well playing in Portland in years. This will be a must win, as will all coming games from this point on, and this one could mean the difference between playing Portland in the first round of the playoffs or playing San Antonio...

Really Good Ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMKShIh8Bs&feature=player_embedded


BONUS EGG: Catch the Masters this weekend at Augusta National where Tiger Woods comes in as the "favorite" to win it all. We'll see, he did turn in an impressive interview today in front of over 200 members of the media. Although some thought it was Oscar-worthy. I guess we'll see who Tiger really next weekend.

MONEY EGG: Clash of the Titans. How's that saying go...? The one about how "nothing is as good as the original". Yea thats it. And that is my feeling about the remake of the 1981 classic. I found it to be very unimpressive, dry, and empty. Although it had the potential to be one of the finest Epics of our generation...it fell far short in the hands of unexperienced Director Louis Leterrier. Although, lets give the man credit...he did direct "Danny the Dog". Oh and the most recent attempt at "The Incredible Hulk". So you see, perfectly fit for handling an Epic of this size. Actually, I found the story to be quite lacking in certain characteristics that have proven to give rise to movies that have become more than just film. This one however, will not find its way to the halls of greatness. And it is a shame too, because...if the task to create this film were laid in my hands, we'd be speaking of some special kind of Epic, never before seen on the silver screen. Full review to come soon!

Mavs' Fall To Thunder 121-116

Dallas beat the young Thunder team twice this season, the problem is they also lost to them twice. It would be very easy for these teams to meet in the first round of the playoffs. I am not a big fan of playing them at all. I would avoid them at all cost. I think they are too good of a road team and are too talented to take for granted. However, they are very young and very inexperienced which would obviously favor the Mavs'. But Dallas has struggled this season with the younger teams. In fact a couple times these young guns just blew by the Mavs' as if they weren't even there. That is why I really would prefer to avoid Oklahoma City and Portland. These teams are too young and talented and are very problematic for the Mavs'. Heck, I'd rather play the Lakers than either of those teams. A prime example of what can happen when the Mavs' match up against a young talented team is the events of last night. Events that led to the Mavs' losing to the Thunder in one of the most frustrating games I've watched this year.

Dallas opened the game looking very crisp and very dominant. At one point in the 1st quarter they had a commanding 8 point lead and it appeared as if they were going to take that and ride it home. They could hardly miss in the first, as they shot over 80% at 14 out of 17 from the field. But it was as if their lead evaporated all in one moment as the Thunder came roaring back. The score was 37-30 Dallas nearing the end of the 1st when the Thunder run started with a Kevin Durant bucket followed by a 3 from Eric Maynor with 1.9 left. Then to open the second quarter Nick Collison had a quick 8 points and just like that the Mavs' found themselves on the bitter end of a 16 to 3 run that left the Mavs' trailing by 8 at halftime.

When Dallas comes out from halftime they are usually coached up and ready to play. But the last couple games against the Magic and Thunder it seemed to me that the Mavs' weren't ready to come out play hard. What happened was Dallas lost ground in the third and even though they started shooting better and getting more aggressive they could not play defense. Every shot taken by the Thunder seemed to fall home without even thinking about the rim. But to the Mavs' credit they played hard enough to fall behind by 16 and only trial going into the fourth by 9.

It was the 4th quarter that really was the most frustrating. I mean, don't get me wrong, Dallas should never fall behind by 16 at home EVER...to any team. And it was extremely frustrating to watch them let the game get out of hand the way they did. It didn't take long for the Mavericks to fall behind by as many as 19 midway through the final quarter. It was tough to watch...I found myself flipping between this beatdown and the beatdown that Duke was giving to West Virginia. But I flipped back to the Mavs' and saw an incredible spirit arise that just hadn't been there since the beginning of the game. With 6:26 remaining and the Mavs' down by 19 Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper for his 24th point; then Jason Kidd applied full court pressure on the inbounds pass and stole it for a Najera layup; then with more full court press Kidd took the ball away from Hardin one more time and with 6:17 left the Mavs' had just cut the deficit down to 13...in 9 seconds. Pretty impressive. But I would have been more impressed if the lead was cut from 12 to 6 or from 8 to 2...but 19 to 13 isn't going to help you that much...they needed a great deal more.

The problem was they actually got a great deal more. Thats what made it so frustrating. Over the course of 3:46 seconds the Mavericks played unbelievable basketball. It was unreal. Starting with the sequence above the Mavs' went on a 17-2 run and cut the lead to a mere 4 points at 110-106 with Dirk free throws. And pretty much every possession during that time was run through Dirk. They got him the ball in the post and let him work his magic. He scored 8 of those 17 points and 10 in the 4th overall. He also had an assist during the run and a couple of great rebounds and defensive plays. But then something happened that troubled me and frustrated me. They stopped running the offense through Dirk. I was confused when I saw Dirk calling for the ball and then not getting it.

The score was 112-106 with 2:30 to go. The play they decide to run, isn't "get Dirk the ball" play...but get Eddie Najera the ball and let him drive into the paint only to commit a most heinous turnover by throwing the ball out of bounds over Caron Butlers un-expecting hands. So instead of pulling to within 4 or even 3 they gave the Thunder more free throws. Their lead swelled back up to seven. Then Dirk had a really nice pass again to get them to within 5 at 113-108. But then J.J. Barea went 1 of 2 from the line leaving the Mavs' down 4 instead of down only 3. There is a huge difference at this juncture in the game between 1 possession and two. See, instead of Barea making the free throw and forcing the Thunder to either call a timeout to advance the ball and set up a play, or just inbound the ball and give the Mavs' time to set up their defense; what happened was they took the rebound from the missed free throw and with 28.9 seconds left Eric Maynor hit a clutch 3 to pretty much finish off the Mavs'. Although Dallas would push and try really hard to get this one...even when Roddy B scored and then Durant missed 2 free throws giving them another opportunity to make it a one possession game, Roddy B turned the ball over. From there Durant makes the free throws and Kidd hit his patented toe on the line 2, and then Collison made free throws and Najera hit a 3...but time would be against them. Down 5 with 7.4 seconds left is hard to overcome, and the Mavs' had no timeouts to boot.

So in the end they could not pull off another 4th quarter comeback even though they tried extremely hard to. I believe if they had started the comeback with another minute on the clock they would have been able to pull this one out of the hat. But it wasn't meant to be. Therefore the Mavs' after winning 13 straight a couple of weeks ago have fallen to 5 - 6 in their last 11 games. 4 of those losses have come at home...not cool. This leaves Dallas in a 4-way tie for second place in the Western Conference with Denver, Phoenix, and Utah. Dallas holds the tie breakers over Phoenix and Denver, and Denver has the tie breaker over the Jazz; therefore the Mavs' would remain at the 2 if everyone stays tied. Utah is the only team that can dethrone the Mavs' in a one on one tie breaker. So for the Mavs' to remain on top of the West and avoid falling all the way down to the 4 or 5 spot will need to play at their best the next couple of weeks. With only 5 games remaining and one of them @Portland, which lately has meant a for sure loss for the Mavs', things are going to take shape and Dallas does not want to get stuck in the Middle of the pack. They MUST separate themselves into that top 2 spot to ensure their playoff hopes will be given a chance. And the time is now, they play Memphis next Wednesday...after three full days rest. Do you know what the Mavs' record is after three days rest this season? At last glance...11 and 3. 11 and 2 before last Wednesdays win over Memphis. So time to start the playoffs...for Dallas every game from here on out needs playoff intensity.

Game Notes:


Nowitzki ended up with a great game, 30 points, 13 rebounds, and a catalyst for the rest of the guys. Jason Kidd also had a great one with 24 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. But the guys who really needed to play well tonight other than the two above did not. Jason Terry was almost a non-factor, he stunk it up with a 2-10 shooting night, and 0-6 from three-point land with only 4 points. Caron Butler had only 8 points on 3-11 shooting. Not good. He really needs to pick up his game around here. Shawn Marion was limited tonight due to an injury to his oblique muscle in the first half. He only played 15 minutes. Brenden Haywood had a solid 9 points on 3-3 but couldn't rebound the ball whereas Damp was rebounding well, but not scoring. These guys need to come together and start playing well...Dirk cannot score 30 a night alone. He will score 30 a night in the playoffs, thats just who he is. He will elevate his game when the time comes, but he's going to need Butler and Terry to pull their weight on the offensive end. Kidd cannot be asked to score more than 10 points a game. But lately he's had to put up alot of shots because he and Dirk are the only ones capable of hitting anything but air. Butler NEEDS to find his groove and Terry needs to take the mask off and start playing consistent basketball if this team wants to get a good seed in the playoffs and make a run at a Championship. No one believes anyone other than the Lakers and Cavs have a shot this year. But I believe Dallas could win the West because I think the Lakers are beatable...problem is, Dallas needs to play solid night in and night out...this Jekyll and Hyde crap cannot be the identity of a Championship team. They need to get things right...and they need to start now!

Breaking News: Another Dirk Nowitzki Milestone

The Uberman, Dirk Nowitzki has once again accomplished something that no other NBA player in the history of the league has ever done. Not Bill Russell, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird, not Cousy or Havlicek, and not even Tim Duncan. And this isn't just a small or random stat that some stat geek dug up in the bowels of NBA stats, this is a major deal that puts Dirk in a league with the elite players of NBA history. He will go to the Hall of Fame, and he will be remembered by (at least) Mavs' fans as the greatest player in Mavericks franchise history. There's no doubt he is that already. The only thing he has not accomplished is bringing home a Championship trophy to Dallas. But he's got some years left to do this, and like he said: "We've got as good of a shot this year as we've ever had, I think, we've just gotta go for it and see what happens." And I believe they will go for it this season. And I believe that Dirk has been going for it for at least 10 straight seasons now...

I know he doesn't have the Championship rings to show for his efforts and believe me when I say that it is the largest current travesty in sports right now that he hasn't won yet. I'd say that Phil Mickelson having never won a Major was the last terrible occurrence of "not winning the big one"...but he remedied that. Unfortunately some of the all-time greats like John Stockton, Carl Malone, Charles Barkley, "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, and Elgin Baylor have not been remembered properly because they failed to win a Championship during their careers. All of those guys deserved to win at least one. If Dirk falls into that group of men who aren't remembered as well as the guys who have rings it would be a true sports tragedy. ESPN would have to devote a "top 5 reasons you can't blame..." to why Dirk didn't win the big one.

But the fact is that Dirk Nowitzki has done things that no other NBA player has ever done. And this is a big one...so, courtesy of the great David Lord of dallasbasketball.com I bring you the incredible accomplishment of Dirk Nowitzki.

I mentioned yesterday that the Mavericks had just become the 4th team in NBA history to win 50 games in 10 straight seasons. I also said that Dirk was around during that entire 10 year period and that he had been the catalyst that really made this machine work. Using that analogy, when pieces of a machine get old or worn or used up they are replaced and upgraded and refurbished...that is what the Maverick organization has done these past 10 seasons. Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson have really thrown out the old parts and upgraded at times and at other times used lesser pieces to make the machine go. But for the last decade they have made the machine work no matter what parts are being used, and on the court there has been only one constant during this great run; Dirk Nowitzki. The thing is, Dirk has never been replaced. Dirk has never needed to be replaced. The only thing the Uberman has changed is his style of play...he's improved it and become a more well rounded player, he has evolved as the game has evolved and as the new younger players in the league have come and upped the tempo, Dirk has brought his game to higher levels year after year, always practicing, and always improving.

These are the reasons that Dirk Nowitzki has become the first and only player in NBA history to lead his team to 50+ wins for 10 straight seasons while being the leading scorer on that team.

Think about that...maybe read it again so it sinks in...now you get it, right? I know what your saying..."whatever, Larry Bird led his team in scoring and so did Magic and so did Russell...?" Well, yes...but not the way Dirk has. Let me explain and give you the stats.

Player	Consecutive 50 win seasons	Years as leading scorer
Dirk Nowitzki	10X50	10
Larry Bird	9X50	9
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	10X50	7
Tim Duncan	10X50	6
Tom Heinsohn	7X50	3

This is a testament to Dirk's ability to sustain success over a period of time. He's played 911 games in his career and only missed 30. His longevity is nearly unmatched especially for a guy of his size and ability. He is durable and is extremely consistent and he knows how to win. There are numerous reasons that he has not won a Championship and perhaps one day I'll devise my own list of the "top 5 reasons you can't blame..." Dirk Nowitzki for not winning an NBA Championship. But I'm not going to rant about it today. The fact is that despite those few devastating post-season set backs Dirk flat out wins. He plays in almost ever game possible and wins at a very high percentage. 

He is the reason that Dallas has a good basketball team. Without him the Mavs' may have been an average team for this entire decade with maybe a couple seasons standing out. But because of Dirk the Mavs' are an accomplished and successful franchise that has won more games and had more success in the regular season than every other team except the San Antonio Spurs. But the Spurs are on their way out, they are not the contender they used to be. Dallas is. And Dallas will be for at least a few more years while Dirk is still here. I'll leave you with a quote from the Uberman himself after Dallas clinched that 10X50 status this is what he said (and it kinda makes you sad): 

"That's something special," Dirk said of 10X50, "and I'm glad I was basically a part of this last decade. Won a lot of games, had a lot of fun, had a lot of great playoff runs. But, you know, like I've said, I'd rather trade that for a championship ring any day...we've got as good of a shot this year as we've ever had, I think, and we just gotta go for it and see what happens."

Even though Dirk says he was "basically a part of it"...we all know that he WAS THE PART! 

Mavs' Dominate Nuggets

The Mavericks knew this game was the game of the year. It would decide the season series between these two team that hate each other, and would give the winner any tie breakers for home court advantage. I told you to mark your calenders because it would be an awesome game that you wouldn't want to miss. And in case you missed it...I was right. I'll give you the highlights.

I'll start with the big one...Dirk Nowitzki recorded his 2nd career triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He really put his stamp on this game and played extremely well. He got his 10th assist on a set play with a couple of minutes to go, he passed to Jason Terry off the screen and roll and Terry knocked down the jumper from the free throw line. It was really exciting...and that was really the only thing at that point that kept everyone at the stadium because the Mavs' never really trailed in the game. They ended up winning by 16 when it was all said and done. Here's the video replay: http://www.nba.com/games/20100329/DENDAL/gameinfo.html

I liked the edginess that the Mavs' showed in this game. They did not back down ever from their opponent and every time Denver came at them and got within striking distance the Mavs' hit the gas and put distance between them. The thing that I liked most out of this game was the Dallas defense. It was...great? Or at least the kind of defensive intensity that a "great" team would play with. For instance, Jason Terry (who is not known for defense) picked up his defensive mentality and played solidly. Roddy B was given big minutes (almost 15) in a big game. And he played well during that time on the defensive end. He only scored 5 points, but he guarded rookie Ty Lawson very well and even recorded 3 steals. Brenden Haywood played a good game and had 4 blocked shots.

But here is the greatest part of this game. Shawn Marion. His was the task of guarding Carmelo Anthony who is one of the leagues top scorers with 28.5 points per game. Melo is a phenomenal scorer and really gets whatever shot he wants most nights. But, on this night he would be given the shots that Marion said he is allowed to take. Not only did Marion push the ball on the offensive end and force Melo to do alot of work defensively, but Shawn Marion held Melo to only 10 points on 3 of 16 shooting. He made 1 three, and shot 3 free throws. Other than that, his impact was non-existent. Marion scored 21 points, and held Melo to 10! That is amazing.

Here are some stats for you to chew on.

Against the Mavericks in three games this season, Carmelo Anthony has averaged only 15.0 points per game. That is his lowest against any team. Another cool thing...how the Mavs' have done against the leagues top guys?

Mavs vs top scorers this season
            Season    vs Mavs
1. Lebron     29.8        25.0
2. Durant     29.6        22.3
3. Melo        28.9        15.0
4. Kobe        27.1        16.3   


Especially against Melo and Kobe, Shawn Marion has done a phenomenal job! Thats why we brought him here and thats why he's such a big part of what the Mavericks are doing this year. 


Here's a couple quotes on the subject of Marion shutting down Anthony. 


"I thought the player of the game was Marion, He did a really fantastic job on Melo. … Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league and he did a phenomenal job on him. … to me, the game ball really belongs to Marion." - Dirk Nowitzki


"I was just making him take hard, contested shots and making him work on defense, too. The thing I've noticed about this league, though, is that most scorers in the league don't want to play defense.  So if you make them play defense, man, it's that much harder for them." - Shawn Marion


And by the way, Dirk moved up past Bob Pettit on the NBA all-time scoring list to number 28 with 20,912 points. That is incredible. And coming up in another couple of games Dirk will attempt to pass Walt Bellamy who is at 20,941. Can't wait to see where he ends up...by my calculations he's been averaging 1,860 points per season for the past 11 seasons (which excludes his rookie year)...if he continues close to that pace for the next 5 seasons which would make him 37 years old he will be somewhere in the ballpark of 29 thousand points leaving him 5th behind only Wilt Chamberlain, Micheal Jordan, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I'm not saying that will happen, but I'm saying even if he falls off more than I put into my calculations, we could be looking at Dirk amongst the top 10 scorers in NBA history when all is said and done. That is amazing! 

Mavs' Rolling To 10X50

The Dallas Mavericks have now completed the incredible feat of becoming the 4th team in NBA history to win 50 games in 10 straight seasons, hence the 10X50. It is unprecedented that a team can sustain success on that level for that amount of time. It is a testament to Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson as well as the only player that has been here for the entire time...Dirk Nowitzki.

The other teams to win 10X50? 

The Magic Johnson led Lakers from 1979 - 1991 won 50 games 12 straight times and won 5 titles. 

The Bill Russell led Celtics from 1958 - 1968 won 50 games 10 straight times and won 8 titles (in a row).

The Tim Duncan led Spurs from 1999 - present won 50 games 10 straight times and won 4 titles. 

The spurs are currently in jeopardy of ending their current streak. They are 45-29 with 8 games remaining. Their final game of the season...@Dallas. How awesome and ironic would it be if Dallas was the team that prevented them from getting to 11X50? 

The Mavs' clinched a playoff birth for the 10th straight season as well. Dallas needs to keep winning, they have seven games remaining and four of those are against quality playoff teams. If the Mavs' slip they could fall out of the top three in the West which would be a tragedy. Whoever ends up in the 4 spot will have to play the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. staying in the 2nd or 3rd spot keeps the Lakers off your radar until the Western Conference Finals. My best case playoff scenario for the Mavs': they end up with the number 2 seed which plays the number 7 seed which hopefully will be the Spurs. I think the Mavs' match up well with the Spurs and could easily win that series in 5 games like they did last year. Then depending on the way things work out I would pray that the Mavs' got lucky enough to play the Nuggets in round 2. Yes, I know, I'm nuts. But hear me out. Last season the Nuggets ruined the Mavs' in the 2nd round and pretty much humiliated them. I believe that this years Mavericks are better, and can beat the Nuggets. I want the chance for them to prove that. There was alot of animosity last year between these two teams and neither are the same as they were then, but I want revenge this year. So, hopefully they will get that chance. I'd rather not have to play Utah, or Oklahoma City, or Portland at all in the playoffs. I'll take San Antonio, Phoenix, or Denver. But all I can do is hope...they have to play the games.