I’ll say Mavs in seven. Not sure what I’m basing that on yet other than my blind, almost dangerous devotion to them, and The Big German. Anyway, here are some others’ takes.
GQ blogger, FreeDarko founder, and friend of the show Bethlehem Shoals: “Who’s to say which team is resilient, which a house by calamity? Los Angeles may be two-time defending champions, but there’s also a long history of dragging out series and getting torched by rival point guards; Dallas got a human backbone this year in the form of Tyson Chandler, and stumped the Blazers despite starting the playoffs without injured forward Caron Butler.”
Longtime thorn in Mavericks fans’ collective paw and ESPN Insider John Hollinger [reg. req.]: “So, ironically, one of the keys to the series may be the two teams’ least important scoring threats. If either [Jason] Kidd or [Derek] Fisher gets a few buckets, their respective teams will be very difficult to beat.”
Ian Levy at the great The Two Man Game: “Finally, if the Mavericks can keep the games close, they’ll always have a chance to steal one at the end with their crunch-time execution. According to 82games.com, Chandler, Marion and Terry all shoot 50.0% or better from the field in clutch situations. Kidd and Nowitzki shoot a modest 45.8% each in the clutch. Dallas played 27 games this season that were decided by 5 points or less, and won 18 of them (a win percentage of 0.667). Dallas has found ways to pull out close games all season, and while they’d prefer not to rely on their closing ability, but it’s not a bad fall-back plan.”
Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas: “No Western Conference team has held Kobe Bryant to a lower scoring average this season than the Dallas Mavericks. Kobe averaged 21.7 points in three games against the Mavs, and his 40.7 shooting percentage, well below his 45.1 percent season average, was fourth-lowest against the Mavs among West clubs.”
The also great Mavs Moneyball: “As a realist, I’d say this series could really go either way. But as a fan, I’m going to put it in the books (realizing that I’m basing this on nothing but whimsy and hope) and say that the Dallas Mavericks can take this series in 7, but only if they win one of the first two games in Los Angeles.”
