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The Texas road trip is always an intimidating proposition, and this year really is no different. However, it won't be quite as lethal this year as in years past. Sure, the Rockets and Spurs are pretty good, and the Mavs are alright, but the balance of power in the West has shifted from the Lone Star State to the city of stars in L.A., where Kobe's crew has an 18-3 record. On the other end of the spectrum, you've got the 2-win Thunder, who can't win on the road, or even at home for that matter. This game has been mildly anticipated by some Thunder fans for a couple of reasons. First, many people were allegiant to the Mavs before Clay brought the Sonics in to town, so really this will be the first time their loyalties will be put to the test. Secondly, Mark Cuban was by far the most vocal owner who spoke out against the Seattle move, making comments that ruffled the feathers of a few feathers here in the Sooner state. Still, the real fun will be when the Mavs finally make their first trip to the Ford Center. Expect a partially split crowd, hard cheers, and signs galore.
Backstory:Everybody's familiar with it by now. By 'it', I mean the huge lead the Thunder were able to give up during their last homestand against the vicious Grizzlies. Some may say, "I can't trust the Thunder, they haven't proven anything to me." I would say, however, that I trust few teams in the league more than the Thunder. I trust that they'll never keep a lead if they're winning, never catch-up if they're losing, turn the ball over if they're making shots, or miss shots if they're not turning over the ball. I've also finally come to the conclusion that the Thunder simply can't win, other teams have to lose.
Match-Ups:
Jason Kidd vs. Russell Westbrook
Edge: Kidd
Do I dare take Russ over Mr. Triple-Double himself? Of course not. Jason hasn't worked out for Dallas as they had hoped, but theres no way anyone can take the rookie over the future HOFer.
Jason Terry vs. Damien Wilkins
Edge: Terry
The surprise of the year for the Mavs has got to be the point production they've been getting from the former point guard Jason Terry. I'll take his over 20 a game over Wilkins' 5.6
Jose Barea vs Kevin Durant
Edge: KD
Who's Jose Barea?
Dirk Nowitzki vs Jeff Green
Edge: Der Deutscher
Nowitzki is third in the league in scoring, and his will and determination may be the difference between a Dallas playoff birth and going home early.
Erik Dampier vs Nick Collison, maybe.
Edge:Collison, maybe.
Nobody can say for sure who's going to start in place of Chris Wilcox, who's out for up to two weeks. Brooks may want to put Collison out there because he's been playing so well off the bench. If he wants to keep him there though, Dampier should have the edge over Petro or whatever hooligan we put out there.
Battle of the Benches
Edge:Mavs
Jerry Stackhouse is the experienced vet, Gerald Green is the raw (emphasis on the raw) talent, and Diop is serviceable off the bench. With the Wilcox injury, the Thunder will have a shortened rotation.
Coaching and Intangibles
Edge: Mavericks
Nothing's going the Thunder's way, and it won't happen on the road against a probable play-off team.
Player to Watch:Nick Collison. If he does indeed start, it will be interesting to see how he performs, because the last time he was in the top 5, he wasn't really that good.
God of Thunder's Pick: Dallas 102 Thunder 92
God of Thunder's Bonus Pick:Bradford 1, Tebow 2, McCoy 3
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