Magic/Mavericks preview
The Magic (28-32, 10-20 road, 9th East)) get the unfortunate task of playing the best and the hottest team in the NBA SAT night in DAL (49-9, 28-3 home 1st West). Check out these fantastic numbers for the Mavs... they have won 14 games in a row, 21 straight at home, and an almost unheard-of 35 of their last 37 games overall. Magic have lost 18 of their last 24 games.
DAL is led by F Dirk Nowitzki, who averages 25.4 ppg (50.4% FG), 9.6 rebs; G/F Josh Howard 19.2 ppg, 7.1 rebs; G Jason Terry 15.9 ppg, 5.3 asts; G/F Jerry Stackhouse 11.3 ppg, G Devin Harris 9.7 ppg; and C Erick Dampier 7.5 ppg, 7.6 rebs. DAL averages 100.3 ppg while allowing 92.1 ppg. The Magic are now allowing more pts than they are scoring. averaging 93.9 ppg while allowing 94.1 ppg.
Fortunately for the Magic, BOS surprised NJ earlier today, so the Magic trail NJ for the 8th spot by just 1/2 game, and MIA by 2 games for the 7th spot. Mavs are huge 13 1/2 pt favorites against the Magic (www.pinnaclesports.com).
DAL is led by F Dirk Nowitzki, who averages 25.4 ppg (50.4% FG), 9.6 rebs; G/F Josh Howard 19.2 ppg, 7.1 rebs; G Jason Terry 15.9 ppg, 5.3 asts; G/F Jerry Stackhouse 11.3 ppg, G Devin Harris 9.7 ppg; and C Erick Dampier 7.5 ppg, 7.6 rebs. DAL averages 100.3 ppg while allowing 92.1 ppg. The Magic are now allowing more pts than they are scoring. averaging 93.9 ppg while allowing 94.1 ppg.
Fortunately for the Magic, BOS surprised NJ earlier today, so the Magic trail NJ for the 8th spot by just 1/2 game, and MIA by 2 games for the 7th spot. Mavs are huge 13 1/2 pt favorites against the Magic (www.pinnaclesports.com).
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 4:17 PM
5 Comments:
At 4:28 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Mavs are really on a mission this season, after one of the biggest collapses in NBA Finals history last season against MIA. Nowitzki should get the MVP this year as he has really elevated his game.
If you recall, last season at this time the Magic were 20-40, about 8 or 9 games out of the 8th spot, and given up for dead... when all of a sudden, the Magic caught fire and made a memorable playoff run before being eliminated the final week. They are 8 games ahead now of where they were last year.
That being said, the way the Magic are playing now, they are not a playoff worthy team. That doesn't mean they don't have the talent to come alive and start playing playoff worthy basketball. It may not come right away, but the schedule does ease up in a few weeks.
At 4:55 PM,
Matt said…
Mike, how could you even think that there is an outside chance that Magic under Hill may change. Talent doesn't make a team; talent just makes a group of talented players. A team has a system within which the output of the group is a multiplication of the sum of individuals' output.
At this time of the season, in my view, all efforts should be focused on magnifying Hill's mistakes leading to his dismissal, instead of hoping that it could change for better, because it won't, although as miserable as East is Magic may still make it to the play-offs. On Sentinel's postings, which I check once in a while, there is almost a consensus for Hill's firing.
At 8:57 PM,
tdawg said…
Dallas is due to lose a game soon, and D Howard is due for a huge night soon. Hopefully both happen tonight.
At 11:40 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I guess the reason I think there is an outside chance that Magic under Hill may change is because I remember the 16 out of 20 run late last season before losing the final two games.
Even if the Magic don't make the playoffs, there is absolutely no guarantee that the Magic would fire Brian Hill, even though we would be all for it.
At 11:00 AM,
Matt said…
1 - I said it before, and say it again that the circumstances under which Magic finished 16-20 was different; the season was assumed lost and Hill allowed the team to play freely. I warned at summer also that the situation will change with Hill imposing his moronic ideas come new season, and was blamed for being too negative while so many positives were going on. I considered myself a realist, then as I do now.
2 - Just because some of us may not think that they will not fire Hill even if the Magic does not make to the play-offs should not stop us from trying to get him out of the way. I go back to the "cancer" analogy used by some on this blog, and I dare now to say Hill is very close to it, although not there yet.
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