With all due respect to the Clippers (who have played well at times but ultimately don't deserve the playoffs), I want to see Warriors vs. Mavericks in the first round. It's a great story, with the whole Don Nelson vs. his old team angle, not to mention that the Mavericks haven't beaten the Warriors all year.
We're almost there, after the Warriors beat the Mavericks again last night. This time Dirk Nowitzki sat out, so the Mavericks can claim it was meaningless, but all the same, it meant plenty in the standings for Golden State. Now it's extremely likely the Warriors will edge out the Clippers for the eighth spot in the West. The only way that doesn't happen is if the Clippers (who put some heat on the Warriors by beating the full-strength Phoenix Suns last night) beat the Hornets tonight, while the Blazers (playing without all the players on their roster that you have ever heard of) have to beat the hot Warriors.
That'll be tough. The Warriors are motivated, and a motivated Baron Davis is, well, a lot better than an unmotivated Baron Davis. Hash, writing on the blog Golden State of Mind, says, essentially, that the Warriors were unstoppable last night:
Tonight the Oracle was treated to a brand of Warriors basketball that stole, swatted, and rebounded ALL GAME. I don't care if that was Dallas' version of their B team or not; we shut them down today from the first quarter until the last second ticked off of the clock in the fourth.
The Mavs could have played Dirk tonight. At the rate that we were going, he would have simply been another victim of our dishing and dunking. Nothing was going to stop us tonight. Not with what is at stake. And I'll tell you one more thing. If the Warriors, god willing, make it to the Promised Land and end up toe to toe with Dallas, Avery and his boys had better be seriously concerned. Because the only thing more dangerous than a team with a record like the Mavs is a team like the Warriors. A group of ballers that have nothing to lose and everything to gain in the postseason.
Also, interesting sidenote: Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy claims in an Associated Press writeup that Dallas is scared of the Clippers.
"From what I'm hearing, Dallas didn't play their guys," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously Phoenix played their guys, so it tells you they (the Mavericks) probably prefer to play Golden State than us. That's what it comes down to."
Dallas is 2-1 against the Clippers this season, and winless against the Warriors. And, not to mention, the Clippers aren't going to make the playoffs. I just don't see it happening.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention the other intrigue of tonight (which, need I point out, is THE LAST NIGHT OF THE REGULAR SEASON). If the Warriors win in Portland, and the Kings beat the Lakers in Sacramento, Golden State will ascend to the seventh spot to face the Phoenix Suns in the first round, and the Lakers will draw Dallas. I am against this.
