Spurs Vs. Mavericks: Old Rivals Hook Up In Dallas

The San Antonio Spurs hadn't been beaten like the Miami Heat beat them in a long time -- since the Dallas Mavericks whipped them by 36 in 2005, in fact. The Spurs, by the way, won the NBA championship in 2005, and appear to be in the pole position right now with a sterling 54-13 record, five games better than the closest competitor (the Chicago Bulls). But Miami opened up some real gashes in that 110-80 victory over the Spurs on Monday, and the whispers about whether San Antonio can avoid hitting a wall will only get louder, unless the team shuts critics up.

A win in Dallas on Friday (8:30 PM Eastern, local TV and League Pass only) would do just that, at least for the time being. The Mavericks are fighting tooth and nail with the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed in the West; the teams currently have identical 48-20 records. That means that the Mavericks are both awesome and inspired, something that could have been said about the Heat on Monday, as Miami was looking to avenge a previous 30-point loss to the Spurs.

Dallas doesn't likely need extra verve to prepare for the Spurs; these teams have fought so many skirmishes, and the only regrettable reality about the current playoff positioning is that we'll only get Lakers vs. Spurs or Mavs vs. Spurs, with Mavs vs. Lakers almost assuredly leading into the Western finals. One of the great results of the Spurs' rejuvenation -- other than the re-elevation of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker -- has been the reintroduction of these old rivalries. It's a real treat to see Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan fight for something more than pride some six, seven, eight years after it all began between them.