@ Rizwan
Some players just don’t have it in them, Vince Carter is another guy who may not bring it when it’s money time. But the real reason I don’t put much stock in Nowitski is I just don’t like his style of play. A fadeaway shooting power forward as your main guy is cool for the regular season, but the playoffs is a different beast. When you get into a tough 7 game series those legs aren’t going to be the same, those jumpers aren’t going to keep falling.

Plus as I said before the Lakers have better chemistry than the Mavs will, if they get that far. Dagwaller makes a good argument, but I’m still not convinced. Plus someone already mentioned it…I like Carlisle but he’ll get outcoached by Phil Jackson, and Kobe will outplay Nowitski, which is what it comes down to.

While I like Caron Butler, he’s not going to add as much to that dynamic as people think, at least not this year. First off he’s a natural 3, they are playing him out of position and he doesn’t have the shooting ability to consistently make LA pay for doubling Nowitski, which they will do selectively.

@Dagwaller

Ditto for Denver. First off once they bring JR Smith off the bench the entire complexion of the game will change. He’s unpredictable, but he basically cancels out anything Butler or Terry might do on a given night, also your matchups are off. KMart might start out guarding Nowitski, but when it’s money time I if Karl is smart (which isn’t a gaurantee) he’ll put Birdman on Nowitski, that’s going to be a problem. In addition I think you overestimate Marion’s ability to give Melo problems. I think this year in the playoffs is the year Melo is going to prove he’s one of those guys who really can’t be stopped. The guy’s floor game is impeccable. In fact, next to Kobe’s I think it’s the best in the league. Also look for him to do some spot duty against Nowitski. All these variables are going to pose serious problems for the Mavs, come playoff time.

VS the Nuggets? Hm.

PG – Chauncey vs. Kidd. I’d probably give the edge to Chauncey, but not by much.

SG – Afflalo vs. Butler. Butler.. Afflalo has been good this season, don’t get me wrong, but Butler can pose problems on the offensive end that Afflalo can’t.

SF – Melo vs. Marion. Melo for sure.

PF – Dirk vs. K-Mart. Dirk for sure, but K-Mart will give Dirk problems the same way Marion will give Melo problems on the defensive end.

C – This is where it’s interesting, for me. Two teams that built their names on offense over the last decade that finally have a pair of big men apiece to hold down the paint. Haywood and Dampier take the edge, for me, over Nene and Birdman simply because they’re not as one dimensional as Birdman is. Plus the size of the Mavs Centers is simply more imposing. Case in point: Birdman is 6-10, 220. Haywood is 7-0, 263. Nene is 6-11, 250, while Damp is 6-11, 265.

Bench – JR Smith and Ty Lawson are the only two reliable bench players, in my eyes, outside of Andersen. Smith and Terry are more or less the same player, while Lawson and Barea are similar, as well. That leaves a whole litany of Mavs that can step in and play minutes. Stevenson, Beaubois, and Najera are all better than their Nuggets counterparts.

Coaching – Karl vs. Carlisle? I’m a fan of Karl’s. I notice that no one on this site is calling for his job the way they were over the last few years. I’ve been over Carlisle’s resume (which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he made the playoffs in the year the Brawl took place), and I’ll give him the point here for the unfortunate, but realistic, reason that Karl will be going through a tough couple of months. Will the Nuggets gel and come together over Karl’s health issues? Possibly. They’re a veteran team, and I don’t think that they’ll exactly fall to pieces. But if it’s close in the coaching department, I have to think that the distractions and time away from the team are going to affect Karl.

The starting lineups might be a wash, but I really think that the Mavs bench would carry them in a series against the Nuggets. Factor in Karl’s unfortunate health issues, and I just don’t see the Nuggets taking 4 games from Dallas.

how can you say Dirk will disappear? I think he has put that crap to rest. So he lost the finals against the Heat? Tim Duncan sucked against the Pistons in the 2005 finals and almost lost had it not been for Robert Horry. You cant judge him on the basis of one series. He did actually get them to the finals that year!

Phoenix are also dark horses to get to the WCF. If they get 4th seed and homecourt, that is huge. I think the Suns can give as good as they get to any WC team besides the Lakers due to their size but Robin Lopez is coming along nicely and we have a better bench then the Lakers, Jazz and even the Nuggets I’d say. Potent scorer (Barbosa when he is healthy), solid defenders (Earl Clark and Jared Dudley) and good back up PG now (Dragic). We also have Jarron Collins to dust off come playoffs.

The west is gonna be a good race this year!

I also felt as though the Lakers largest advantage was their size and versatility up front – does anyone else think that this advantage at the least has been neutralized? Or was that not their biggest advantage last year?

The coaching deficit isn’t as large as some might make it out to be (although I still give the edge to Phil Jackson) – in 7 seasons as a head coach, Carlisle has only missed the playoffs once, and was eliminated in the first round once. The other 5 years he made it past the first round, highlighted by two Conference Finals trips. He’s no rookie.

U underestimate good coaching in playoffs where matchups KILL you.. everyone does though..

Phil will take us to the golden land..

Hate to say but Kobe would go buckwild on the Mavs in the playoffs..

Cant wait for money time..