Dallas @ Phoenix Gameday Thread

[akaarod03]

If someone told me that the Mavs could go 3-1 on this difficult West Coast trip prior to the All Star break...I would have been ecstatic. Well...at the very least...we can do just that. Do I think Dallas has a chance against Phoenix tonight? Absolutely. Does that mean a victory in the win column? I'm not sure. When you have 3 key guys in Dampier, Stackhouse, and Daniels potentially not playing against one of the best teams in basketball, on the road, last game before the All Star break...that is not a recipe for a win. I love the Mavs. They have a ton of heart. But that's a lot of adversity to overcome. I wish we could play an elite team like Phoenix or San Antonio at full strength. Back to the game...how do we beat Phoenix? Well obviously the "Big Two" Nowitzki and Finley have to step up. But the key thing to me...is containing former Maverick Steve Nash. When Nash was in Dallas...lanky, tall defenders like Pippen and Bryant gave him fits. So what I think Nellie needs to do is to tell his All NBA defender... Josh Howard... to try to slow him down...try to rattle him a bit. I also think Devin Harris needs to assert himself. When we played the Suns the 1st time in Big D...yes...Nash had a good game...but he also had 10 turnovers. Harris had 5 steals. I believe it's imperative that we make Nash work on the defensive end. It's kind of embarassing when former Maverick Howard Eisley schools Nash for 20 points and 11 assists in the last game. It's also amazing how the anemic Jazz score 128 points against the Suns without Kirilenko and Boozer not playing the majority of the game. With all that said...I don't have a good feeling about this game. It's tough when you possibly don't have 3 guys that are a part of your 8 man rotation not playing. Hopefully Dallas can surprise me. If the Mavs can get off to a good start in tonight's ballgame...I think Dallas can come out of America West Arena with a win. Go Mavs!

91-83 Mavs