Of course we get to play the Spurs once again and hopefully we can knock them out of the first round. I feel we have the advantage and there’s no other team I’d rather face right now in the West. The Spurs are old, injured prone right now and just aren’t the same team they use to be.

Dirk seems to already be in playoff mode, grabbing another Western Conference player of the week.  Marion had a small injury but he’s back and seems to be in full form. The rest of the guys seem to be healthy so I’m expecting a first round pass and hope the Mavs do not have to face the Trailblazers or Thunder at all during this playoff race. It’s sad to think that out of all the teams, one would likely fear the Lakers or Nuggets but I feel more confident against those teams than the lower seeded teams.

Game 1 is Sunday April 18th. Let’s go Mavs!

The Lakers have lost 3 straight so grabbing that top seed is not impossible, with the Nuggets not far behind as well.

With Terry out, we seem to have enough talent to pick up the slack, especially Beaubois putting up some great numbers in the last 3 games.

Also I must admit, Shawn Marion seems he’ll do anything to get a ring and thinks the Mavericks have that chance. He could easily be that 20 plus points and 10 rebound player but plays conservatively to win, making his teamates better as well in the process.

Wafer has played for 5 years, averaging around 13 mins a game in 109 games, 11 of those were in the starting lineup and close to 6 points a game. He last played for the Rockets in 2008-2009.

Since the trade, we lost to OKC but I actually fear that team more than say, the Spurs nowadays. But since that loss after the big trade, we’ve now won 4 straight games.

Now only if we can get Kidd to shoot the ball as much as he likes to pass, we can start getting a further lead in our conference to secure a better playoff spot.

I would like to ask my friend Daniel to not go out and purchase any Haywood or Butler jersey’s because everytime he does, it seems the player starts to suck or gets traded.

I really like this trade and I think we got the better players out of the deal, especially with the ailing Josh Howard who’s been injured prone for the past two seasons, who seems to not care as much nowadays about his playing ability. I did like Drew Gooden but I figured he was picked up at the beginning of the season for this exact reasoning, to trade or deal in a multi-player trade.

Caron Butler brings on a healthy starter for the Mavericks, who averages what Josh did for us before injuries started sidelining him. Haywood was the leading rebounder for the Wizards, so I already think that’s a plus. He can likely replace Dampier as our starting center, putting up good numbers and even better numbers than Dampier. He also played at UNC during college, that’s always a plus for me since that’s my college team.

So let’s hope these guys can help the Mavericks for the remainder of the season, stay healthy and give us the needed boost and confidence in the playoffs this season. Perhaps with these additions, the Mavs are the new team to beat.

I forgive you Mavericks for losing against the Sixers when you come out winning in such style.

Supposedly Shawne Williams was benched due to his unprofessional attitude. Cuban put it as “put out to pasture” earlier this year.

As for Humphries, he has potential and was good but being a PF on a team with enough PF’s, he just couldn’t get the playing time he deserves. I’m sure the Nets will use and utilize his skills.

So Najera might not be the same player we knew before but hopefully he brings his great attitude and enthusiasm to the team.

Basically Dampier was fouled, but the officials also said he threw an elbow on his way down in which a technical foul was called against him, his second of the game which is an automatic ejection.

If you review the play, it’s clear Dampier did not throw an elbow to cause harm. The officials could have taken back the technical thrown his way but didn’t after several on court reviews themselves.

Cuban is protesting this as a misapplication of the official rules and wants the last 1:01 of the game replayed with Houston up 110-104.

I actually couldn’t agree more and don’t blame Cuban for submitting the 10k it costs to protest such a call that could make or break a game. It might only be 1:01 left in the game but Dampier should have been allowed to make his free throws which potentially could make the score 110-106 with the Mavs getting the ball back after the flagrant foul was made against Dampier.

Landry wasn’t as lucky, losing several teeth when Nowitzki’s elbow hit him when fouled.

But the Rockets squeezed by barely. Up by 10 or so points late in the game with what looked to become a closeout after knocking our star out of the game, the Mavs pulled it together and tied it at 100, but then lost all such momentum in OT as the Rockets pulled away 116-108.

From the fans standpoint, most were not pleased with the officiating in the end of the game but expect anything when Dirk is out, like Little Jose being our leading scorer.

After the Nowitzki and Landry collision, the Rockets went on an 18-5 run if that tells you anything. That’s how this Rockets team has to beat the Mavericks, take out the star.

Nowitzki is questionable for Sunday nights game against the Cavs, but at least it’s not a serious injury that is taking him out for weeks or the season.

Howard missed the first 8 games of the season, played the last 3 where he had a good first game comeback but didn’t really produce much since that one game.

The Mavericks are playing the Timberwolves tonight who are 1-8 this season. It should be an easy road win for the Mavs. Then it’s off to Piston Land and then the Bucks for a 3 game road trip, then they host the Spurs at home.