Lakers Vs. Mavericks Predictions: Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum Will Be Too Much For Dallas
For the Mavericks to win, they need to really be making shots to counteract the obvious deficiency they have on the glass. That’s a tall order against an excellent Lakers defense in a seven-game series. The Mavericks are an excellent team that should push the Lakers, but it’s hard for me to see them winning. The pick: Lakers in 6.
Read Article >Lakers Vs. Mavericks Predictions: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Depth Too Much
Dallas need a lot of things to go right to challenge the Lakers. I’d prefer to bet on the two-time defending champs maintaining their performance. Lakers in 6.
Read Article >Lakers Vs. Mavericks Predictions: Dirk Nowitzki Can Only Do So Much
How have we lasted the past decade without getting one Kobe-Dirk, Mavericks-Lakers showdown in the NBA Playoffs? It seems like that should have happened at least a couple times, just by accident. In any case, here we are, with Dirk vs. Kobe for the first time ever in the NBA Playoffs.
And if it were just Dirk vs. Kobe... it’d be a pretty fantastic seven-game series.
Read Article >Lakers Vs. Mavericks Predictions: L.A. Big Men Should Overcome Dirk Nowitzki
We’re not talking David and Goliath. The teams are too similar for that. Instead, Dallas is Goliath’s younger brother Steve: Big, strong, and potentially intimidating to the rest of the league, Dallas looks at the Lakers and sees a team that is better at everything the Mavs are good at, save Dallas’ strong outside shooting. That is the one fundamental difference between the two aged rosters. Dallas does their damage with outside shooting, the Lakers with inside pounding. Just like in Goliath’s more well known battle, Steve’s only chance is to land a death blow with his sling shot before Goliath closes the distance and starts punching Steve in the face. Problem is, David was an unknown and had the element of surprise. Dallas is Goliath’s little brother, and the Lakers know all their tricks.
Dirk is probably the best player in this series. That, and the Lakers just being who they are, is good for two of the first four games. The Lakers seem to like nothing better than closing out a series with wins in games 5 and 6, and that is the prediction here.
Lakers in 6.
Read Article >Lakers Vs. Mavericks Predictions: First Two Games In L.A. Key To Dallas’ Chances
As for team scoring against the Lakers, it really comes down to the team finding a way to get multiple players on the scoreboard, preferably with more than one having 20-plus point games. The reason is this: when Dallas had their lone victory over the Lakers in January, Dallas scored 109. Five of their players scored in double figures, and there were three players with more than 20 points. Compare that to their two losses when they faced L.A. in March: Dallas only averaged around 87 points, and in each loss only three players were able to reach double figures.
As a realist, I’d say this series could really go either way. But as a fan, I’m going to put it in the books (realizing that I’m basing this on nothing but whimsy and hope) and say that the Dallas Mavericks can take this series in 7, but only if they win one of the first two games in Los Angeles.
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