The Southwest Division NBA Preview

Dallas Mavericks - 36-30 record last season. 7th seed in the playoffs. Lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 1st Round of the Western Conference Playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Darren Collison, Vince Carter,  Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman / Rodrigue Beaubois, OJ Mayo, Dahntay Jones, Jae Crowder, Elton Brand

Storyline/s: Mark Cuban had a plan for the offseason, but Dwight Howard and Deron Williams were not in on that plan, so plan B netted them Mayo, Brand and Kaman, then traded for Darren Collison. Dirk is going to be unavailable for the start of the season. Has the window of opportunity closed for them, considering that Dirk, Beaubois and Dominique Jones are the only players from the 2010-11 season still with the team (and the latter two did not even figure at all in the postseason title run)?

X-Factor/s: Can OJ Mayo prove himself to be a top-caliber-esque player? Can either Brand or Kaman come close to their 2006 Clippers form with the Mavericks?

Prognosis: Exiting first round of the playoffs.

Houston Rockets - 34-32 record last season. Missed the playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Jeremy Lin, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, Omer Asik / Toney Douglas, Scott Machado, Carlos Delfino, Terrence Jones, Donatas Montejunas

Storyline/s: Just before the buzzer sounded, the Rockets traded for what they believe will be a true go-to-guy option in Harden. This after Orlando spurned their interest in Dwight Howard.

X-Factor/s: Lots of newcomers, but can the two key holdovers (Chandler and Patrick) steady the ship with all the new faces?

Prognosis: Missing the playoffs.

Memphis Grizzlies - 41-25 record last season. 5th seed in the playoffs. Lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1st Round of the Western Conference Playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol / Jerryd Bayless, Wayne Ellington, Quincy Pondexter, Darrell Arthur

Storyline/s: The indelible stigma from last season was their collapse against the Clippers in Game 1 of the playoffs. They did however stretch their matchup to the full seven games. Can these guys make the next step?

X-Factor/s: They missed Darrell Arthur's contributions last season. He returns, now recovered from the injury that he incurred. They were really bad from shooting outside, so they acquired Ellington to hopefully fix that hole. Wayne and Quincy are expected to plug the hole left by OJ Mayo.

Prognosis: Exiting the first round of the playoffs.

New Orleans Hornets - 21-45 record last season. Missed the playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Greivis Vasquez, Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Anthony Davis, Robin Lopez / Austin Rivers, Xavier Henry, Hakim Warrick, Ryan Anderson, Jason Smith

Storyline/s: The Hornets naturally struggled last season after having to deal with the Chris Paul trade drama in the short offseason. It did not help matters that one of the assets they managed to secure missed a chunk of the season due to injury. They lucked out on securing new ownership, then the rights to the top overall selection in the draft.

X-Factor/s: Greivis gets the starting job while Austin gets mentored on how to run the offense. AFA got some playing time from his Olympic run with Nigeria. Will it translate to an improved game this season?

Prognosis: Missing the playoffs.

San Antonio Spurs - 50-16 record last season. Division Champions. Lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

Ideal Rotation: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw / Gary Neal, Danny Green, Stephen Jackson, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter, Dejuan Blair

Storyline/s: Do they still have one more run in them? They'll have to start it without Manu. They stood pat while the other contenders re-armed. Can they stay healthy?

X-Factor/s: Can Danny Green, Stephen Jackson and Gary Neal collectively step up in Manu's absence at the start of the season?

Prognosis: Division Champs. Exiting in the Conference Semifinals

TWTWTNBA: Deconstructing The NBA Finals - Focusing on the Immediate Future

The Finals beckons. Now that we have gone back to the way past, time to focus on the here and now.


Finals schedule: Time is in ET. Miami has homecourt advantage. The real winner though, is American Airlines, which has the naming rights to both venues (Miami is AA Arena, whilst Dallas is AA Center). Just so you know, Southwest Airlines is the official airline of the NBA.

Game 1: May 31. 9pm
Game 2: June 2. 9pm
Game 3: June 5. 8pm
Game 4: June 7. 9pm
*Game 5: June 9. 9pm
*Game 6: June 12. 8pm
*Game 7: June 14. 9pm

* - if necessary

Regular Season Matchup: Dallas won both games, both were relatively early in the season (November and December). It is important to note that Caron Butler was healthy and available when they faced off. In fact, he played a vital role on both games. At the same time, Peja Stojakovic (still with New Orleans / Toronto) and Corey Brewer (still with Minnesota) were not yet with the team. Rick Carlisle has indicated that he all but ruled out him playing in the playoffs, let alone this series, but Tuff Juice has been working his darndest to make himself a option before the series is over. On the other hand, Udonis Haslem was still recovering from injury and Mike Miller was just freshly

The first meeting was in the early days of the struggles of the Heat, and the second meeting was the only loss the Heat went through on their sizzling run (which included the great fabled Lebron homecoming) that immediately followed said struggle.

What should Miami do:

1. Wade redux. Dwyane Wade pretty much had a pedestrian series against the Bulls, but he among the three had the best numbers against the Mavs in the regular season. Of course, you know what he did in 2006.

2. 2/3 clicking. There is the ridiculous stat where if the three combine for 70+ points, they are virtually unbeaten. That's the challenge of Erik Spoelstra in figuring out ways that he can maximize the offensive outputs of Wade, James and Bosh.

3. Udonis Haslem. He pretty much will be tasked to tackle Dirk Nowitzki. He, along with Joel Anthony, were vital in the low post defense, rebounding and hustle stats.

4. Outside sniping. 31 attempts from long distance in their 2nd regular season meeting. Hopefully, Mike Miller's distraction has been addressed and thus be able to focus on the task at hand. Mike Bibby has been an absolute misery, whose playoff PER has been a point of mockery on the interwebs.

 What should Dallas do:

1. Three-point barrage: They killed the Lakers with it, they have not yet suffered from it. Oh, and they shot better from there against the Heat. And they have the shooters to do it. (Kidd, Terry, Stevenson, Stojakovic).

2. Offensive oomph off the bench: JJ Barea has been a postseason revelation. The Puerto Rican from Northeastern is just running rings around his defenders. The Heat might have to do to him in a lesser extent what they did to Derrick Rose. Of course, The Jet is the linchpin off the bench for the Mavs. The former Sixth Man of the Year is familiar with crossing swords with Wade.

3. Defending. Mavs held the Heat to under 42% shooting in their regular season meetings and outrebounded them (by a small margin). Can they keep that up? They have the capability to check things with Chandler, Marion, Stevenson, Brewer.

4. Dirk. This is about what he is about to do. The stigma that Dallas was screwed out of 2006. The misery of being embarrassed by Golden State. His legacy might be giving the Metroplex their first championship in the new millennium (Stars were the last team to win, via the NHL in 1999).

Prediction: Mavs in 6. This ain't your time yet, Lebron. You'll get your chance, but not now. Not this year. And with the way the Indians are playing, the hex of Dan Gilbert might just come true.

TWTWTNBA: Deconstructing The NBA Finals - Revisiting the Past

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. They made it to the NBA Finals. Just like what they did 5 years ago. It would be remiss to look back then as a means of revisiting the situation that is about to unfold.




The 2006 Miami roster: Derek Anderson, Shandon Anderson, Earl Barron, Michael Doleac, Udonis Haslem, Jason Kapono, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, James Posey, Wayne Simien, Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker,  Jason Williams, Dorell Wright

Note: Matt Walsh played with the team during the season but was waived during the season. Gerald Fitch with also with the team but was traded to acquire Derek Anderson.

Five years later: Udonis Haslem and Dwayne Wade are the only remnants.

The 2006 Dallas roster: Darrell Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Marquis Daniels, DeSagana Diop, Adrian Griffin, Devin Harris, Josh Howard, Didier Mbenga, Rawle Marshall, Dirk Nowitzki, Pavel Podklozin, Josh Powell, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry, Keith Van Horn


Note:  Doug Christie played with the team at the start of the season but was waived during the season.

Five years later: Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are the only remnants. Interesting to note though, that Erick Dampier is on the Miami roster this time around. Jerry Stackhouse likewise was also on the Heat roster, but he was waived early in the season.

We all knew what went on in the Finals. Dallas goes up 2-0 and was leading late in Game 3 before Miami pulls off a comeback to win it, and then winning out, albeit with some controversy due to officiating. Most point out the free throws disparity, as Dwyane Wade had 46 free throw attempts in the last two games of that series, with people quipping that blowing air towards him would cause the ref to call a foul.

Wade was named as the NBA Finals MVP, averaging 34.7 points. 7.8 rebounds 3.8 assists 2.7 steals and 1 block in that 6-game series. It's amazing how he just took over that series.

The 2011 Western Conference Finals on ESPN

I'm the Larry Bird for the new millenium, bitches.

Game 1 has passed by and what a game that was. You could call it the Dirk Nowitzki Experience, where whatever Oklahoma City put up did not stand a chance. Even their coach, Scotty Brooks, said it. Lost in the DNE was that Kevin Durant was not all too shabby either.

After the jump is the much belated preview of the NBA Western Conference Finals.




Schedule of Games: All games in Eastern Time

Game 1 - Tue May 17 Oklahoma City at Dallas 9:00PM 121-112 win for Dallas.
Game 2 - Thu May 19 Oklahoma City at Dallas 9:00PM
Game 3 - Sat May 21 Dallas at Oklahoma City 9:00PM
Game 4 - Mon May 23 Dallas at Oklahoma City 9:00PM
Game 5 * Wed May 25 Oklahoma City at Dallas 9:00PM
Game 6 * Fri May 27 Dallas at Oklahoma City 9:00PM
Game 7 * Sun May 29 Oklahoma City at Dallas 9:00PM
*if necessary

Unlike the Eastern Conference, it's simply an alternating setup and no events that could possibly disturb the cycle are present. What helps is their proximity to each other makes it conducive. (Oklahoma City is just three hours away from Dallas-Forth Worth.)

Regular Season Matchup: Dallas won the first two meetings before Oklahoma City got theirs in their final encounter. Interesting to note that all games came before the trade of Kendrick Perkins. In addition, both of Dallas' wins have been with Caron Butler on the roster before he got hurt, and Dirk did not play in that final meeting.

What should Dallas do? Feed Dirk. The German shooting machine has totally been as efficient, like what the German stereotype of their industry. The Thunder are befuddled as they try to defend him in Game 1. JJ Barea has been running rings as of late and in Game 1, OKC failed to keep him in check. Dallas also has been great with the three-pointer, predicated on by Jason Terry and Jason Kidd.

What should Oklahoma City do? Still, the major elephant in the room remains to be the Westbrook shot selection process. Russell needs to make those shots and at the same time, find opportunities that would make Durant feel comfortable with. Focus on the defensive end is also a need, considering all their games against the Mavs have been high-scoring affairs.

X-Factor/s: A pair of guards off the bench for both teams need to contribute well for the success of both teams. On one side, JJ Barea has been great in the playoffs, while James Harden for the Thunder has been the offensive oomph from the bench, considering they start off with Thabo.

The pick: Dallas in 6. Dirk is primed for a return run to the Finals. This is another learning experience that would be for the benefit of Durant, Westbrook and the others, knowing that next season is the leap to becoming one of the favorites to win the title in 2012.

Western Conference Playoff Manuscript

Well, this was supposed to be the playoff preview for the Western Conference, but since I'm posting this already after the Lakers get bounced (I predicted the Lakers to supposedly advance in 6, so I am terribly wrong in this case), might as well do a little revisionism and post-script action.

So, let's go straight to the nitty gritty.




2 - Los Angeles Lakers vs 3 - Dallas Mavericks

Regular Season Analysis: The Lakers held a 2-1 edge in the regular season, winning the last 2 meetings. Dallas did not shoot well in their regular season losses against LA. Peja Stojakovic only played in the third and final game.

What went wrong for Los Angeles: True to form to their regular season, save for Lamar Odom, the bench was relatively non-existent.That already put more pressure on everyone, especially with Pau Gasol, who already has been receiving major flak based on his performance in the previous series.

What went right for Dallas: Dallas stroked it from long distance. They tied a playoff record with 20 three-point conversions in a game during Game 4. To put it into comparison, the Lakers converted just 15 threes for THE ENTIRE SERIES. And when you watched the game, most of those were coming off good screens and great execution. The Jet went bananas in the last game, 32 points off a record-tying nine three point conversions. Also give credit to how the Mavericks defended Kobe and made it difficult for him to score. Barea has been a pest and made things brutal for Laker defenders to the point they had Ron Artest guard him.


Man of the Series: Dirk Nowitzki has been great all series long. Unstoppable from Games 1-3. He was there in Game 4, but the BTS took care of things in that one to the point that he was pretty much irrelevant.

4 - Oklahoma City Thunder vs 8 - Memphis Grizzlies

Regular Season Matchup: The Grizzlies have a 3-1 edge in their regular season duels. It is important to note that Rudy Gay only played in the first 2 games before his season-ending surgery. In addition, they only met once after the trade deadline that netted Kendrick Perkins for Oklahoma City and Shane Battier for Memphis. Memphis won said particular meeting. All games were relatively close, with winning margins of 4-9 points. Each team scored in triple digits in all the games.

Keys for the Thunder: Shot selection. The white elephant in the room has been Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant's shot attempts. The issue is not that, because Kevin is a guy that does not really that vocal in demanding the ball. The issue is and remains to be on the decision-making Russell conducts in the process.

Keys for the Grizzlies: Paint dominance. They have two of the better (possibly the best remaining in the postseason) low post scoring options in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Mike Conley has played within himself and controlled the ebb and flow of how things roll.

X-Factor/s: It's all about the Celtic championship pride running down the veins of Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allen on each side.

Prediction: Oklahoma City in 6.