Amare32
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SEMI-FINALS-GAME 1
Dallas Mavericks @ Phoenix Suns
When Monday 10th May
Time: 7.30 PT
Location: Phoenix
TV: TNT, UPN 45
Probable Playoff Starting Lineups:
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PG-Jason Terry[/b]
SG-Michael Finley
SF-Josh Howard
PF-Dirk Nowitzki
C-Erick Dampier
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PG-Steve Nash
SG-Joe Johnson
SF-Quentin Richardson
PF-Shawn Marion
C-Amare Stoudemire
Game 1 prediction match-ups
Point guards
Jason Terry Vs Steve Nash
The battle of the point guards, Jason Terry going up against the guy who ran the Mavs offense for the past 6 years. Terry has had a very good season and an even better playoff series. Jason Terry scored 31 points in game 7 of their series Vs Houston and was the difference maker in their wins in game 3 and 4 in Houston. It will be key to stop Terry by attacking the rim, when he attacks It leaves more chances for the Mavericks shooters. He will really be the x-factor in this series and in game 1. Steve Nash on the other hand will be going up against the team he has played for 6 seasons, he will go up against his best friend Dirk Nowitzki. Nash will be given the MVP to the Phoenix crowd right in front of his former boss Mark Cuban. That will be an interesting moment. Nash will look to push the tempo and try and make life difficult for Terry and make him chase him round the court. Nash will look to take advantage of this match-up and show why he is the MVP
Shooting guards
Michael Finley/Joe Johnson
Michael Finley seems to have a habit of killing the Suns in Phoenix and his long range shooting makes him dangerous. He will be a very important player in game 1 as he will get decent looks. Suns will be keying on Dirk and they know they will need to stop Terry getting into the lane, so Finley will have a chance to get some good looks. How he does will be key to the Mavs hopes of stealing game 1. Joe Johnson on the other hand doesn't have Finley's experience but he is still playing great basketball and shooting a high % from three and did a good job through the first round Vs Memphis. He will again be depended to do the same. He will get some good looks as the Mavs will be mainly forced on stopping Nash and Amare inside. JJ will need to knock down shots and take It strong to the hoop.
Small Forwards
Josh Howard Vs Quentin Richardson
Josh Howard had a tough time defending Tracy Mcgrady in round one but did as good a job as you could. Howard is still a good defender and a very capable scorer. He is a very good slashing who can break down defenses. He has given the Suns some troubles this year with the way he plays. It will be important for the Suns to not let him get off. The Mavs have enough weapons the last thing they need is for him to go off as well. Howard will be depended on making sure Q doesn't also get off early and also attack the rim at the other end. The Suns don't have the defensive center rotation that the Rockets had so they feel they should have a better time at going to the basket. Quentin Richardson will need to post up more downlow, he has the size and skills to post up and attack the rim. He will again be dangerous from deep, he made the most threes this year for a reason. He will need to win out in this match-up for the Suns to take advantage of home court.
Power Forward
Dirk Nowitzki Vs Shawn Marion
Dirk Nowitzki struggled in round one Vs Houston shooting just 35% which was a surprise considering the Rockets had no decent forward said to defend him. If he thought facing guys like Bowen was tough having to face Marion will be even tougher. Marion has always been a guy who has given Dirk problems with his quickness and jumping abilty. Dirk will really need to step his game up if the Mavericks are to have much of a chance. Dirk will need to shoot a good % and average between 25-30 points a game. He will need to use his size to his advantage and start knocking down shots. Shawn Marion is averaging a double double in the playoffs and is on a real role basically all season. He will look to use his quickness to get past Dirk and attack the rim. Marion can take you inside and outside. This will be a tough match-up for the man who finished 3rd in the MVP voting.
centers
Erick Dampier Vs Amare Stoudemire
Erick Dampier struggled in the first round with foul trouble which meant he wasn't on the floor a whole lot. While I do think Dampier will be more effective offensively in this series, I don't expect his foul trouble to stop in this series. Amare is too quick for him and guys who have good size, strength and quickness give him problems. His job If he stays out of foul trouble will be to clog up the lane and make sure Amare doesn't go crazy like he did in the Memphis series. Dampier can do more than his stats may say, he can be a very effective rebounder and post defender. Amare Stoudemire who averaged over 25 a game in the regular season again was impressive against Memphis. Where no one could put a body on him, he needs to continue to attack the rim and take the jump shot when available to him. I fully expect him to put up monster numbers yet again
Benches
Like in round one, when you compare the benches the Mavericks have a clear advantage. Dallas will bring Jerry Stackhouse, Marquis Daniels, Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn and Alan Henderson as the main guys off the bench. You have got two career 15+ scorers off that bench in Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn. The Mavs will look to Stackhouse to score and give them instant offense off that bench and when KVH comes back from injury will be needed to give rest to Dirk. The Suns will need to try and counter that with Jim Jackson who can give the team offense and quickly, Steven Hunter's presents will also be needed. He had a good series in round one and he will again be depended on in this series.
Key's to the game
Mavericks
- Get Dirk going early, he struggled in round one and must look for his shot early to give him some confidence back.
- Attack Nash early, Dallas know it's strengths and weakness's and his main weakness is on defense. So Jason Terry will need to go at him early and score early, attack and pass out.
- Erick Dampier must stay out of foul trouble, he does a good job of clogging the lane when he stays out of foul trouble. They will need production out of him.
- Don't let the Suns get easy looks from deep. The Suns are the best shooting team in the NBA and when you let them run and get threes off fastbreaks It just kills you.
- Get Amare the ball and let him go to work inside by attacking Erick Dampier. Dampier got in serious foul trouble in round one guarding Yao. There's no reason why It shouldn't continue against a stronger and quicker Amare.
- Get the break going, push the tempo and get easy looks. The Mavericks are an improved defensive team but no team can stop the Suns when they run.
- Must guard Dirk tough and not let him have any easy looks, Shawn Marion must contest every shot that Dirk puts up. Make life as tough as possible for him
- Get some bench production. The Mavericks have a clear advantage in this area so guys like Jim Jackson, Steven Hunter, Barbosa and Walta will need to come in and give the Suns at least some energy If not a load of points
The 2nd round of the playoffs here, the Suns swept the Grizzles 4-0 while the Mavericks went through a very tough series beating the Houston Rockets in 7 games. Both teams look to run and gun so expect a fast paced game.
Game 1 of the opening of a series is always important. You always want to set the tone for the series and the team that win game 1 of a series most times out of 10 goes on and wins the series. There will be alot of key match-ups in this series and for a general NBA fan will love watching this series.
The crowd will be pumped for this game, Steve Nash will be given his MVP to the crowd, All the fans will be pumped up which will get the players more motivated and fired up knowing the credit the Suns have gotten for this amazing season. Mark Cuban's face when Nash gets the award will also be something speical to see.
I expect the Suns to come out really strong tonight and make a statement. I feel the emotions will be so high with Nash getting MVP and playing against his home team that the Suns will carry that through and take game 1. It will be a great game with great match-ups and I expect the Suns to take care of homecourt and win game 1.
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