The Dallas-Phoenix Apocalypse
Two shall play. One shall survive (win).
How do you preview a game like tonight’s Phoenix at Dallas dream match-up? I’ll keep it simple. This is the biggest thing EVER! I’ve been writing my recaps on the D.A.Y. and this game is more important than those hundreds of games combined. It is possible that Phoenix could steal home court advantage from the Mavs – they are only three and half games out – but if Dallas is supposed to be a juggernaut for the ages, then they should not be threatened by anyone.
If the Mavs were to lose this game, it would be two straight losses after a 17 game winning streak, with the Suns creeping up for that homecourt. Remember, Phoenix won two game sevens on their home floor last season. The Mavs could get tight and go into a relative death spiral. If Phoenix loses, the Mavs would regain their footing and put doubt in the Suns’ collective mindset, leading the season series 3-0 and probably earning home court, where they are 30-3 this season, heading into tonight’s game in Dallas.
You could argue that tonight’s game is the real NBA Championship. You could, and I will. Whoever wins tonight is going to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs, and winning the whole thing. The Eastern Conference does not concern me. Yes, I’m overlooking the Heat, Pistons, Cavs, and the rest of that mess much like everyone overlooked the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bears (for good reason), and last year’s Heat. I’m fine with that.
The last time I can remember a regular season game of this magnitude in the NBA was during the Lakers first Shaq-Kobe championship season, where they met Portland at the Rose Garden with each team riding 11 game winning streaks. The Lakers won, went on to win 19 in a row, and had home court advantage for the game 7 where the Blazers choked away a trip to the Finals. Who knows how the series, or NBA history would have turned out if the Blazers won that one regular season game? The Kobe to Shaq alley-oop in the fourth quarter of that game with the L.A. crowd going crazy is probably the iconic NBA moment of the 21st century. Would that have happened if Portland had homecourt advantage?
Of course, there are what you could call sleepers in the West that could ruin the current season’s glorious 7 game series for the ages. San Antonio is on a 13 game winning streak, have all the playoff and championship series experience in the world, and would love to spoil the fun for all of us. Jerks.
Houston has the Yao-Mac tandem, although neither one of those superstars have been out of the first round yet. I don’t see any other logical sleepers that can ruin the Dallas-Phoenix playoff series. Even if Golden State and Nellie have the Mavs number, there is a big difference between regular season and playoffs. Utah is built for the regular season, and it took Jerry Sloan forever to get to the Finals with two of the best players of All-Time in his starting five, never missing a game for 10 years or whatever it was. Denver is still a mess, even if they’re playing better against bad teams. The Lakers have too many injuries and I don’t respect the Clippers, Kings, Hornets, or any of the other first round dead meat out there.
This is the game of the century, until April 1st when they play again. It’s very rare that two teams this hot and virtually unbeatable play each other. This has been a long time coming. Here’s what I wrote back on January 22nd.
Has anything changed since then? The Mavs have been unrealistically dominant, obliterating (yes, OBLITERATING!!!) everything in their path. Consistent, dominant, well-rounded, well-coached, defense and offense, you name it. Phoenix got better and started blowing everyone out with Amare working his way back into his dominant form, but then Nash got hurt and they sputtered for a minute. Now Nash is back, and Phoenix has become more of a balanced team, improving on defense, still running up the score on offense.
Looking at the season series so far, they met up way back in the early stages of the season when they were both struggling to get going, as crazy as that sounds. Look, I even wrote something about it.
Dallas has won both head to head games so far, the second one being one of the better games of the season. Dirk hit the big shot. Here, more old stuff for you to read.
That game was intense maaaaan. It should be just like that tonight. The Mavs are angry after losing to Golden State. The Suns are happy go lucky Sun-like. Feel free to make predictions if it suits you, or to post comments live as it happens, or just sit back and watch and enjoy the show. My plan is to sit back and be entertained.
51 Responses to “The Dallas-Phoenix Apocalypse”
Mar.14 at 2:37 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Spurs in 6.
Mar.14 at 2:37 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Or Heat in 7.
Mar.14 at 2:48 pm
TheHype says:
Ryan Jones in 6.
Mar.14 at 2:49 pm
TheHype says:
vs. GQ I meant… but you probably knew that
Mar.14 at 3:12 pm
mark says:
Don’t sleep on the Spurs. Everyone counts them out - talks about how the Mavs have something to prove - blah blah blah == the Spurs will beat the Mavs - provided the Mavs get out of the first round — and win the title this year.
Mar.14 at 3:15 pm
Chris says:
This is a hard game to predict, I can see it going one of two ways, 1. The Mav post up dirk, and dominate the glass, and get good interior play from Damp and win by 10+ leaving everybody to question why we thought this game would be close in the first place. OR 2. Pheonix gets on one of their offensive streaks, lead by barbosa on run outs and raja hitting the 3, and pheonix makes Dallas look slow much like golden state did.
Mar.14 at 3:24 pm
mavs-cavs fan says:
mavs win
Mar.14 at 3:34 pm
drop81 says:
mavs(id hate to admit it)
Mar.14 at 3:36 pm
Patrick says:
dallas by more than 10, less than 15. and the title.
Mar.14 at 3:36 pm
h-wag says:
I´m really excited for the game.
It starts at 2 in the night over here in Germany, but I will be soooo awake for that.
Mar.14 at 3:41 pm
white hot eboy says:
Sam, you’ve lost your mind! The German fruit will not respond in the playoffs (like last year. Too much burden for a European in the NBA. Mark it down today, Dallas will not be able to hold off either or Phoenix/San Antonio or Detroit/Miami in 7 games. Maybe, they slip out of the West, but the slowdown style of the Pistons and the Heat (plus a healthy D-Wade) will f with the “juggernauts” psyche. Plus, the 2 east beasts have a championship ring and heart that Dirk and his girls just won’t show. Would love to see Nash push him out and see Cuban lose the rest of his sh*tty Julius Ceaser combover for not keeping the games best pg.
Mar.14 at 3:45 pm
Chris O'Leary says:
3:45 left in the 3rd quarter, Steve Nash misses a three. The rebound bounces high and Shawn Marion grabs the ball as it starts to fall. He catches his reflection in the glass and says, holy shit, I could sit in the rim right now. This throws him off and he fumbles the ball. It hits the rim and Amare grabs the loose ball with two hands, dunks, and almost rips the basket down. Then he goes over to Mark Cuban, picks him up with one hand, Undertaker-style, and throws him across the gym. From his seat on the bench, Austin Croshere sees this and instantly his head explodes. Dirk vomits from having Croshere’s head-guts land on him. Sensing a moment to ask insensitive questions, Jim Gray runs over to Croshere’s widow and asks her for her reaction to seeing her husband’s head explode. And somewhere, Ahmad Rashad is trying to call MJ for his take on all of this. Amare’s dunk is huge though. Suns by 7.
Mar.14 at 3:48 pm
Kyle Watson 35 says:
The Mavs lost 3 at home??
Mar.14 at 3:54 pm
Azh says:
all you ppl are whack…..the mavericks over the SUNS…hellz naw that aint happenin sry….SUNS beat dallas in dallas by 20 or more i promise that……….Nash Marion STAT bell diaw thomas jones and the STUD barbosa vs Dirk terry + howard…yup the suns by 20 or more
Mar.14 at 4:05 pm
chris white says:
i’d have to go with the mavs…idk but the crowd out there is gonna be crazy nuts
Mar.14 at 4:10 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Yeeeeaaaaaah, Hype.
Mar.14 at 4:25 pm
J-Bird says:
Nash,STAT,Matrix,and the Blur? Its gotta be the Suns.
Mar.14 at 4:26 pm
Frenchdude says:
man, i can’t wait to see this game right after reading your article
I do believe in an OT game. that would make me ecstatic (yeah ECSTATIC!!!)
Mar.14 at 4:29 pm
Boyd says:
One thing about the Mavs, and why it is very UNLIKELY they will win it all. In a revision of an earlier argument, no team, other than the Jordan Bulls, has ever won a championship without a very good pivot, a very good point, or both. These two positions are fundamental to the game, so lets look at the facts; Last years heat, Shaq, Pistons, Chauncey and Big Ben (both at the time top 3 players at their pos. in the L) Tim Duncan is a pivot, not a powerforward, he just never made it back after D-rob left. The Lakers with Shaq, Rockets with Hakeem, Pistons with Isaiah first time round, Celts wouldn’t have won it without Parish, a top 5 centre of his day, in the middle to police the Hakeems and Kareems of the world. Dr. J won squat til Moses turned up, the Lakeshow had Magic AND Kareem, the Blazers had Bill Walton; on and on it goes all the way back to Cousy and Mikan et al in the 50’s. Dirk Nowitzki is no Jordan, and the Mavs have no elite players at the two key positions. The Suns on the other hand, are loaded at both, with the best point guard, and a top 3 centre (who has dominated Howard and Yao this year, the only two bigs you could legitimately put above him.) For this basketball-101 reason, I think the Suns wil be lifting it in June. That plus Nash absolutely flat out refuses to lose. Yes the Mavs are pissed about last year, but, Nash has 5 years on Nowitzki, and for once, age is an advantage; in desire, desperation, leadership, maturity, you name it.
Mar.14 at 4:38 pm
Matthew says:
I guarantee Terry Stotts will not coach the Bucks next year. I also guarantee the Mavs will not lose 2 games in a row. Damn Michael Redd’s knee injury.
Mar.14 at 4:44 pm
Benedict says:
Why do you call the Spurs jerks? After 10 glorious years you still dont give enough credit for Tim Duncan and co.
Mar.14 at 4:44 pm
Chris says:
It’s amazing how little respect the Mavs are getting, and I guess they’ll have to win a title for that to change. But damn they were in the FINALS last year, and I’m sorry but I agree with dirk when he says they gave it away, and this year they’re tearing through the regular season, and yet it seems like a LOT people doubt they can win. This is a well constructed TEAM with no real weakness. They’ve got a dirk, a matchup nightmare, JET a good secondary scorer, they have defense, rebounding, a bench, athleticism, a good coach. I’m not saying they’ll win tonight, but they’re my pick to win in June.
Mar.14 at 4:45 pm
Benedict says:
Mavs by 19. Book it.
Mar.14 at 4:49 pm
Brian says:
You think either the 96 Bulls or the 92 Dream Team could win a game playing only the WC this year?
Mar.14 at 5:08 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
I’ll be posting game notes as soon as the game ends, so come to SLAMonline for the postgame wrap.
Mar.14 at 5:16 pm
Courtney says:
Your comments on the Blazers got me thinking - it would be so awesome if you guys did a story on that Blazers team that got so close to the finals and maybe even the chip, only to have that epic 12-minute meltdown, which later proved to be a microcosm of the 5-plus year meltdown that they’re now finally recovering from. One of the most influential 4th quarters on a franchise, in my opinion.
That Blazers team has become an NBA joke, but let us not forget how gangsta that team really was. Damon Stoudemire, Pippen, Detlef, Sheed, Sabonis, and Steve Smith. That’s a strong lineup.
I’m from Portland, and though their meltdown may have been a surprise to alot of people watching that game, there was plenty of smoke before the fire that season. No one involved with that team except Paul Allen is still there, and an in-depth look at that season, and what led to their meltdown, would be absolutely fascinating in my opinion.
Whad’ya say, Lang?
Mar.14 at 5:46 pm
Klobben says:
I really hope the Mavs are gonna win this one. I agree with Sam, this is an important game. It´s not easy to tell who´s going to win. One can say great things about both teams. I mean who´s gonna stop Dirk? Who´s going to stop Amare? However I think it comes down to if Dirk is on or not. I believe he´s the MVP. And if he has his game on the suns won´t be able to respond.
Also the Mavericks are a great defensive team these days.
Mar.14 at 5:51 pm
Sko says:
Brian, are you serious?
even if you mean to say “title” instead of “game” it’s ridiculous to ask that question about the Dream Team, they could field a different starting lineup every night based on matchups and straight toy with cats. Now the ‘96 Bulls, if they had to come through the western conference to win a title, might have a little more trouble,the Worm would have to start at the 5 against Utah or Phoenix, but I think he could handle Amare or Dirk or TD or KG in a series. They might have to just deny Yao the ball. What other teams could challenge them?
Mar.14 at 6:14 pm
KMG says:
I hate throwing that cliche’ “statement game” around like some people are prone to do, so I’ll say this instead: At this point in the season, Dallas and Phoenix are going to finish 1-2 in the West, so this game is actually kind of meaningless. Don’t get me wrong, I will watch, it will be exciting, but it’s still just the regular season. If Dallas is as badass as they’ve proven themselves to be this season, they won’t let Phoenix make up 3 1/2 games on them over the last 20. Still, it’s almost a shame that the teams with the two best records in the League can only play eachother to get to the chip, as opposed to playing eachother for it.
Mar.14 at 7:08 pm
holla says:
not pointless cuz home court matters.
Mar.14 at 7:21 pm
Hersey says:
I love the hype for a regular season game. Toss in some Greg Anthony Suns hate and I’ll be really amped for this game, in HD no less. Suns will need to score 120 tonight. Go Suns!
Mar.14 at 8:47 pm
mdshuai says:
That Blazers game was one of the worst moments of my life. With that said, Brian, I think both the dream team and the ‘96 bulls would win just as many games in this western conferance as they were winning then. You put three of the best defense players in their positions in league history on any team, combined with the best offensive player in the league, and you get one of the best teams ever. Look at 1998, they lost 3 games after all star break when Pippen got back from his back injury, and they won 62 games.
Mar.14 at 10:00 pm
15AM says:
suns lead 32:18 after one …
Mar.14 at 10:16 pm
15AM says:
and 60:53 at the half …
Mar.14 at 10:42 pm
dean says:
suns are finally going to win it all this year. oh yeah.
Mar.14 at 11:00 pm
thasam says:
Suns outscored 38-16 in the 3rd quarter. Dallas is showing that killer instict to stomp your neck and grab the heart from your chest that Phoenix doesn’t semm to always have.
Mar.14 at 11:43 pm
thasam says:
I guess I spoke too soon.
Mar.14 at 11:47 pm
Chris O'Leary says:
Nash! OT! Exclamation points!
Mar.14 at 11:52 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
I forgot to mention that this game is also probably going to decide the MVP of the season. Nash hit that three to send it OT after faking Josh Howard into fouling him and basically pulling the possibility of a win in the biggest game of th year out of thin air.
Also calling Amare a beast is not enough. Need to research more violent beings.
It should also be noted that the two best games in the league this year have been THIS and the Suns-Nets triple OT, both games being extended by Nash 3s.
Mar.15 at 12:03 am
Dutch Rich says:
Nash’s willpower is unparalleled. The guy might arguably be the most intelligent ballplayer of all times.
Mar.15 at 12:04 am
shaq says:
DOUBLE OVERTIME!!
Mar.15 at 12:09 am
Dutch Rich says:
The People’s Champ knows what he’s talking bout!!
Mar.15 at 12:11 am
Dutch Rich says:
I would like to ad that the Dirkster is looking like a liability with the game on the line. Maybe D-Wade had a legitimate point couple weeks age. And just on que he hits the high arc jumper.
Mar.15 at 12:14 am
Dutch Rich says:
Steve won that hands down. Dirk couldn’t get it done once again when things got real hot.
Mar.15 at 12:18 am
holla says:
well if this game decided it we got a three peat mvp… damn nash is cold blooded
Mar.15 at 12:19 am
Max Airington says:
Amare isnt a beast, he’s a Spartan.
Mar.15 at 12:19 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
Lang will have a lot of fun recapping this one.
Even with Amare’s performance and those key plays from Marion, Steve Nash just won his third straight MVP.
Dirk in crunch time was very nervous. Picking up techs? Not wanting the big shot, then missing it when he got it? Missing a free throw? Not MVP stuff in the game of the year.
Mar.15 at 12:22 am
Dutch Rich says:
Looking at the highlights noticed that Dirk had Marion in the air. All he had to do was jump into him to get two freebies.
Mar.15 at 4:28 am
Boyd says:
Which he would’ve missed, and looked like even more of a twat. And whats up with Greg Anthony? I’m sure he thinks he’s the greatest pg of all time and hates nashty. He’s a true hater, in the worst sense, cos he never won jack, was a very avg player, and still finds time to bitch. Incredible.
Mar.15 at 7:07 am
James says:
An alternative to ‘beast’ for Amare? Well it isnt exactly original but this description fits - “The term juggernaut is used to describe any literal or metaphorical force regarded as unstoppable that will crush all in its path”
Apr.4 at 3:33 pm
H to the izzo says:
:tm: