Dallas is goin to win 4-0 definitely. The amount of rest they get is the biggest factor and advantage they have over the GSW. Moreover, they have home court advantage and after their 1st game win, they will continue to pounce the demotivated GSW. Btw, taking their previous meetings into consideration, GS seems to have the advantage. Their past 3 meetings all ended up in a loss for Dallas.

You can call this payback time for the Mavericks, but then the fact that GSW is able to win against them means that they might have knowledge of bypassing the Mavericks.

For Dallas to lose, what an upset it will be for GSW and NBA. But never say never

Raptors and Rockets ftw !!

Dallas most likely will not lose the 1st round, and against the GSW, they have the full advantage over them. They still are the Western Conference Champions, dont forget that and GSW barely catch up to the playoffs (13 years since their last playoffs appearance).

Raptors, will most likely be the underdogs for the East. Them facing the Nets will most likely be the highest highlights of the East . Bulls vs Miami will make up a good show too.

Guys i think Astro juz showing a little bit of the Playoff. Am i right???

@Virgil

Well, did you notice that GSW only start to pick up after they traded in Jackson and Harrington ? That coincide with the recovery of Davis from injury, and together with Ellis and Richardson (omg the 3ps he shot), they win alot of their remaining games to reach the playoffs.

Before that, they were nowhere near in contention.

It'll be tough games la for both side, wouldn't say Dallas will blow GSW away, like 4-0. Should be a good fight ! Go Baron Davis !

I can say that it does have an effect on the power play of the warriors but then if they are to sink 3's then i think both team (Dallas and GS) will have the same strength.. GSW's playing style has always been the isolation-way. They dish a lot of passes around looking for the empty man. Their bench players are as good as their regulars, so actually all of them are not to be looked-down upon.

If the Mavericks were to play better defense, it might just overturn the table and Dallas are the team who have been quite equal in offense and defense but as i have said they earned the rest and home court advantage, which will be the main factor in determining the winner of round 1.

Don't forget that some teams were made for the playoffs and some teams were made for the regular season.

I personally don't like Davis, there's even an article about him being a bad guard.

And there's always a possibility, an #8 seed has beaten a #1 seed before, think it was Denver-Seattle in 94 and Knicks-Miami in 99.

^
There will always be a possibility no matter what, but Dallas is in a sense having a bigger advantage compared to GSW.

About Davis, i think he is not that bad of a player.. iirc his assists numbered up pretty well so it is no doubt that he is one of the key players to the GSW.. remember on his comeback after injury, he beat the hell out of the Pistons

Guys, what about the other matchups besides Dallas-GSW ? Anybody has some say ? Raptors-Nets, Jazz-Rockets and Heat-Bulls look very exciting encounters they are. Who will shine in the playoffs ? Possible upsets in the cards between Suns-Lakers ?

Yeah, ever since they changed the earlier rounds to best out of 7 instead of 5, the better team usually will always win. Don't think they'll pull off an upset, it's just a matter of whether they can avoid getting swept

As for Davis, his assists are okay but his turnover rate is pretty high. His Assist:To ratio is about 2.46, low for a guard. Nash has a little higher turnover ratio but much higher assist total. Billups has both a high assist ratio and low turnover ratio so he's one of the top in that aspect.
Davis also has a bad 3 point shooting % and free throw % for a guard, .745 for the season and .681 career is very bad for a guard.
Lastly I heard the really bad thing about him is that he always makes bad decisions/choices on the court D:

^
No matter how bad he is, there is still other players that can take his spot, as i said GSW is a team full of good players. If Davis performs badly the coach always has the option to sub him out and replace him.

i think Dallas can go to the next round easily

and they oso can be beaten up easily by the GSW! for me its a 50-50 chance.

Guys here are the Playoff schedule:
Western Conference
(1) MAVS vs. (8) WARRIORS
Gm 1: Sun., Apr. 22 @ DAL, 9:30, TNT
Gm 2: Wed., Apr. 25 @ DAL, 9:30, TNT
Gm 3: Fri., Apr. 27 @ GSW, 10:30, ESPN
Gm 4: Sun., Apr. 29 @ GSW, 10:00, TNT
Gm 5: Tue., May 1 @ DAL, TBD
Gm 6: Thu., May 3 @ GSW, TBD
Gm 7: Sat., May 5 @ DAL, TBD, TNT

(2) SUNS vs. (7) LAKERS
Gm 1: Sun., Apr. 22 @ PHX, 3:00, ABC
Gm 2: Tue., Apr. 24 @ PHX, 10:30, TNT
Gm 3: Thu., Apr. 26 @ LAL, 10:30, TNT
Gm 4: Sun., Apr. 29 @ LAL, 3:30, ABC
Gm 5: Wed., May 2 @ PHX, TBD
Gm 6: Fri., May 4 @ LAL, TBD
Gm 7: Sun., May 6 @ PHX, TBD

(3) SPURS vs. (6) NUGGETS
Gm 1: Sun., Apr. 22 @ SAS, 7:00, TNT
Gm 2: Wed., Apr. 25 @ SAS, 7:00, TNT
Gm 3: Sat., Apr. 28 @ DEN, 8:00, ESPN
Gm 4: Mon., Apr. 30 @ DEN, TBD
Gm 5: Wed., May 2 @ SAS, TBD
Gm 6: Fri., May 4 @ DEN, TBD
Gm 7: Sun., May 6 @ SAS, TBD

(4) JAZZ vs. (5) ROCKETS
Gm 1: Sat., Apr. 21 @ HOU, 9:30, ESPN
Gm 2: Mon., Apr. 23 @ HOU, 9:30, TNT
Gm 3: Thu., Apr. 26 @ UTA, 9:00, NBA TV
Gm 4: Sat., Apr. 28 @ UTA, 10:30, ESPN
Gm 5: Mon., Apr. 30 @ HOU, TBD
Gm 6: Thu., May 3 @ UTA, TBD
Gm 7: Sat., May 5 @ HOU, TBD

Eastern Conference
(1) PISTONS vs. (8) MAGIC
Gm 1: Sat., Apr. 21 @ DET, 7:00, ESPN
Gm 2: Mon., Apr. 23 @ DET, 7:00, TNT
Gm 3: Thu., Apr. 26 @ ORL, 8:00, TNT
Gm 4: Sat., Apr. 28 @ ORL, 3:00, TNT
Gm 5: Tue., May. 1 @ DET, TBD
Gm 6: Thu., May 3 @ ORL, TBD
Gm 7: Sat., May 5 @ DET, TBD, TNT

(2) CAVS vs. (7) WIZARDS
Gm 1: Sun., Apr. 22 @ CLE, 12:30, TNT
Gm 2: Wed., Apr. 25 @ CLE, 8:00, NBATV
Gm 3: Sat., Apr. 28 @ WAS, 5:30, TNT
Gm 4: Mon., Apr. 30 @ WAS, TBD
Gm 5: Wed., May 2 @ CLE, TBD
Gm 6: Fri., May 4 @ WAS, TBD
Gm 7: Sun., May 6 @ CLE, TBD

(3) RAPTORS vs. (6) NETS
Gm 1: Sat., Apr. 21 @ TOR, 12:30, ESPN
Gm 2: Tue., Apr. 24 @ TOR, 7:00, NBATV
Gm 3: Fri., Apr. 27 @ NJN, 7:00, ESPN2
Gm 4: Sun., Apr. 29 @ NJN, 7:30, TNT
Gm 5: Tue., May 1 @ TOR, TBD
Gm 6: Fri., May 4 @ NJN, TBD
Gm 7: Sun., May 6 @ TOR, TBD

(4) HEAT vs. (5) BULLS
Gm 1: Sat., Apr. 21 @ CHI, 3:00, ABC/R
Gm 2: Tue., Apr. 24 @ CHI, 8:00, TNT
Gm 3: Fri., Apr. 27 @ MIA, 8:00, ESPN
Gm 4: Sun., Apr. 29 @ MIA, 1:00, ABC/R
Gm 5: Tue., May 1 @ CHI, TBD
Gm 6: Thu., May 3 @ MIA, TBD
Gm 7: Sat., May 5 @ CHI, TBD

To those who said gsw stand a chance of beating the mavs!

Also kobe isn't the only good game-closer in the playoffs, there's also someone called Big Shot Rob, looking forward to San Antonio-Denver series.

This post has been edited by knighty: Apr 20 2007, 11:28 AM

Heck GSW has Biedrins and Pietrus up for bench scoring too.

DALLAS, April 19 (AP) -- Watching from a tunnel as the Dallas Mavericks played in the NBA finals last season, Don Nelson had to feel like a proud father.

In many ways, he was - with his son running the front office, close friends he'd hired coaching the team and guys he'd molded such as Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard leading the way on the floor.

Nellie will have an even closer look at the Mavs at the start of this postseason. He'll be coaching against them.

Now guiding the Golden State Warriors, Nelson's club snagged the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs on the final day of the season. As luck would have it, their first-round foe is the Mavericks, who are coming off a 67-win season that tied the sixth-most in league history.

So put aside the relationships. Nelson's goal starting Sunday night in Dallas will be to destroy the monster of a club he created.

"It's going to be a good old fashioned family feud,'' said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations and the son of the Warriors' coach. "I'm sure when Nellie comes down, we'll get the kids together and hang out and have a good meal. Then the next day we'll try to rip each other's throats out.''

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson's relationship with Don Nelson dates to the 1993-94 season, when they were together in Golden State. Nelson made Johnson a full-time starting point guard for the first time in his career that season and was rewarded with a trip to the playoffs. This is the Warriors' first time back since then.

Reunited as player and coach in Dallas a few years ago, they later hatched a succession plan. Johnson was to eventually replace Nelson as coach of the Mavericks. Eventually came much sooner than expected, with Johnson taking over in March 2005 after only 64 games. He got Dallas into the NBA finals last year, his first full season in charge.

Because Nelson was around last season as a consultant, he's still very familiar with the Mavericks. And because he's still a heck of a coach, Golden State went 3-0 against Dallas this season. The Warriors spoiled the game when the Mavs dropped a banner honoring their Western Conference title and later ended a 17-game winning streak.

So Nellie's return for the first round is about more than nostalgia. It could be a tough start for the Mavericks in their bid to win the title they lost in heartbreaking fashion last summer.

"I think it's great for the NBA,'' Johnson said. "He and I have had a long history together ... (but) the teams are going to decide it.''

Postseason reunions are becoming common for the Mavericks. Two years ago, it was Steve Nash in the second round. Last year, it was Michael Finley in the second round and Nash in the conference finals. So Nowitzki isn't too worked up about seeing his old coach.

"It's fine,'' he said. "It doesn't matter who we play against. Every team in the playoffs is good and presents problems. Obviously we know Nellie's style is up and down and it's all about matchup problems. He's got a great lineup to do that. We just have to be solid. Nothing new.''

Nelson's impact on Mavs history is best summed up this way: They won 13 games a few years after he arrived. They lost 15 this season.

Nelson arrived as the general manager in February 1996. Both were damaged goods, Dallas because of a roster of misfits and Nelson because of messy departures from the Warriors and New York Knicks.

He named himself coach early in the 1997-98 season, then traded for Nash and Nowitzki on draft day in 1998. He was still seeking his first winning season with the Mavericks when Mark Cuban bought the team in early 2000.

Cuban decided to keep Nelson and give him whatever he needed to succeed. Tapping into those resources, Nelson got the Mavs into the playoffs in 2000-01 and even won a series. They set a franchise record with 60 wins two years later and got to the conference finals. A failed experiment of cramming the lineup with scorers resulted in a drop-off in '04.

Johnson arrived as the coach-in-waiting the following season. Nellie even let AJ take the team out for a spin a few times early in the season, an unusual gesture that just seemed to make sense for this coach and this protege. The breaking-in paid off when some medical issues forced Nelson to leave the team for a few weeks.

When Nelson returned, he realized his players were responding to Johnson's Cajun twang better than his Midwestern tone. He resigned 18 games before the playoffs, parting on good terms with everyone but Cuban. As the winningest coach in team history, Nelson is especially popular among fans, many of them patrons of a sports bar he partly owns. It's called "Nellies,'' of course.

"It's a welcomed matchup,'' guard Jason Terry said. "We're all excited.''

Source: nba.com

Six man
A good sixth man is to a team as a good change of clothes is to an awards show host. The same way that new digs can give the host a fresh look, a quality sixth man can breath new life into a team and bring a facet of play to the court that the squad doesn't have at the opening tip.
The last two winners, Mike Miller and Ben Gordon, were honored mainly because when they entered the game they immediately gave their teams an outside-scoring threat.

Corliss Williamson, in 2001-02 with Detroit, and Anthony Mason, in 1994-95 with New York, were awarded the distinction based on the toughness that they provided when inserted into the lineup.

Detlef Schrempf earned back-to-back awards in 1991 and '92 because of his overall contributions on both ends of the floor.

No matter what style of play you bring, the only rule you must follow in order to be eligible for the award is that you have to sub in the game more times than you start it.

Here are my top five candidates for the Sixth Man Award (stats through April 17):

1. Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix
2006-07 stats: 18.0 PTS, 2.6 REB, 4.0 AST, 1.2 STL, .475 FG
The defining play in Barbosa's season came on Jan. 2 with the Suns playing in Chicago and trailing by two in the closing seconds. Instead of going inside to All-Stars Amare Stoudemire or Shawn Marion to try to tie the game, or having back-to-back MVP Steve Nash try to create something outside, the ball went to Barbosa with 1.5 seconds left who nailed the three to lift Phoenix to victory. What does this little anecdote illustrate? That Barbosa is a superstar substitution. As I pointed out in my column last week, the fourth-year Brazilian guard had 31 20-plus point games this season ... and he had 13 in his first three seasons combined. Barbosa was a key contributor on a 60-plus win team and fit D'Antoni's system perfectly as his endless energy and uncomparable speed allowed the Suns to put it on their opponents for 48 minutes.

2. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio
2006-07 stats: 16.5 PTS, 4.4 REB, 3.5 AST, 1.4 STL, .464 FG
Ginobili is averaging the most points he has for his five-year career while playing the least amount of minutes per game since he was a rookie. The fact that Ginobili was able to push his ego aside after being a full-time starter on the 2004-05 Spurs championship team and strive off the bench speaks to his maturity. Manu's unique blend of slashing and outside shooting make him one of the hardest players to guard in the league and his never-say-die intensity he brings to the defensive end routinely results in drawing a charge, nabbing a steal or making a stop for the Spurs. Across the board his numbers are similar to Barbosa's, but Manu already came into the season with the confidence of winning a ring, so performing off the bench wasn't as much of a psychological challenge for him as it was for a young, un-established pup like Barbosa.

3. Jerry Stakhouse, Dallas
2006-07 stats: 12.0 PTS, 2.2 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.8 STL, .427 FG
Stackhouse averaged 29.8 points per game a few years back and now, in his 12th season, his role is that of a hired gun off the bench. Stack played a career-low 24.2 minutes per game, but increased his efficiency by a notable margin -- his .427 field-goal percentage was the highest he's shot since the '99-00 season in Detroit. Asides from his scoring, Stackhouse provides a veteran toughness (see his hard foul on Shaq in last year's Finals) that the Mavs need to make the next step.

4. Corey Maggette, L.A. Clippers
2006-07 stats: 16.8 PTS, 5.8 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.9 STL, .455 FG
The Clippers began the season with defensive stopper Quentin Ross starting at small forward and Maggette coming off the bench, but that changed as L.A. made a playoff push down the stretch. Nevertheless, Maggette has subbed in 44 times as opposed to his 30 starts so he is eligible for the award and his numbers are impossible to ignore.

5. Antonio McDyess, Detroit
2006-07 stats: 8.1 PTS, 6.1 REB, 0.9 AST, 0.8 STL
As the Pistons made their run toward the No. 1 seed in the East, McDyess came up big on several occasions. First there was the 20 points and 11 rebounds in a win vs. Denver on March 26, followed by 7-for-7 shooting in a five-point win over New Jersey on March 30, and who could forget his 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win over the East's other elite, Cleveland, on April 8. McDyess' season numbers might not be as impressive as the rest of the field, but he came up big when Detroit needed him most.

which 2 teams will be in the final?

detroit, cleveland would be my choice for the east, dallas, phoenix would be my choice for the west, though San Antonio is also a strong contender too...

i think that detroit will advance to final for eastern..
while spurs will advance for western