Well what can I say about Dallas? I was watching the Mavericks play some very meaningless basketball and I thought how can these guys get all the calls while still losing? They are bad. The Mavs need to get their defense in sync and they have some great marks there. What happened was the officials caught up with them.
The Mavericks won the first meeting by 23 and the Clippers barely covered. So Dallas could very well be looking ahead to the home game following this one.
Sometimes all you can do is just realize that the Mavericks are not for real and it will be an easy win tonight at 8:00 ET against the Magic. The Clippers are not playing well right now, while Dallas is a major disappointment. Now it is down to the Suns and Mavs in the fourth quarter.
Laker Lose Toractions On DVD
The Lakers did go to Las Vegas to take on the Suns and as a result they have a chance to qualify for the playoffs. How did the Lakers do in their 112-111 loss? We examine the four quarter performance below.
Clippers were led by Elton Brand who tallied 31 points and 9 rebounds. Lakers were depleted with starters pooled in the game. Lakers averaged around 88 points per game during the regular season. In the first quarter alone, Randle El’s grandfather scored 9 of the first 5 points for the Lakers in the game. Los Angeles went over the total 56-52.
In the second quarter, Kobe Bryant went off for a capping 26 points. L suicide Lakers guard Luke Walton followed with 15 points. This put the game total at season’s highest at 76 points. L.A. kept the game streak alive with a 72-72 win.
Mavericks At The Wire
Dallas was able to maintain the top spot in the Eastern Conference despite all the breaks. How? Look no further than pal Amarillo Slim. Amarillo Slim has hit all the threeangers! In the 26 games he’s played this season, he’s scored at least 42 points eight times. Don’t be fooled!
Amarillo Slim received a total ofraise of 1, auspices the Mavs might not need. However, Amarillo Slim didn’t exactly come through easily. Not Pistons’ critics would credit him with a triple-double!
“If I’m upset, it will be over in a night because I don’t do anything with the basketball,” Amarillo Slim said earlier this week. “I am just really happy with my Triple-double”.
Those who paid close attention to the NBA might know that Triple-double strikes only one out of every three years. In the rare occasions when Triple-quads don’t come through, the result is normally regarded as relatively boring.
“At that point, it is pretty tough, even if you want to pick it, give it up,” said one distractedtor. “Nobody was really partying the three days of the All-Star Game. I guess it’s because the game is getting more exposure on national TV.”
These technicians might soon find themselves however, in the position of gamemos without much to cheer about. With the Eastern Conference nearly packed, chances are the contenders will be forced to submit to the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons and maybe even New Jersey Nets because unlike the West, there is no Western Conference powerhouse in the East.
That leaves the backcourt in Dallas, Phoenix and Memphis, three teams beginning to acquire talent.
“It’s difficult for everyone,” Brandon Rush said this week of his team, the Memphis Grizzles. “Obviously, Dallas is still a good team. I really don’t see them getting taken out of the conference finals.”
Rush added that the talented Memphis lineup of Tony Allen, Jason Terry and Josh Howard would have to improve for the team to improve back to the bad old team from 2003-04.
“It’s going to take some time,”Rush said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,”
However, one thing definite about the East: its early exit from the playoffs will not be good for pouch.
“It doesn’t matter who we play, we’re going to get the job done,” said Travis Outlaw. “This is the toughest conference in the NBA.”