Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE
vs Memphis Grizzlies
—–LAST SEASON RESULTS—– —–UPCOMING MEETINGS—–
FEB 29 @ MEMPHIS: L 96-85 DEC 21 @ MEMPHIS
APR 4 @ DALLAS: W 95-85 JAN 12 @ DALLAS
APR 7 @ MEMPHIS: L 94-89 FEB 27 @ MEMPHIS
MAVS LOST SERIES 2-1 APR 15 @ DALLAS
The past few years the Memphis Grizzlies have been on the right path to success for the first time in their franchise history and will be looking to carry on that success into this season and for fans hopefully more. However, without O.J. Mayo who signed with the Dallas Mavericks they have lost about 15-18 points every game. Last season the Grizzlies were eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers in 7 games in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. The year before they went on to the 2nd round of the playoffs being eliminated in seven games by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Those two post-season was the most success they have ever had since coming in to the league as an expansion team when they were in Vancouver in 1995.
This year could be a different story for these Grizzlies. With the Western Conference so packed with teams that are championship on top seeded contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets it may be hard for the Grizzlies to keep up with a high standing to get them a high seed. They should still be able to get a 7th or 8th seed, but doing so it will most likely be another first round exit.
If the Mavericks and Grizzlies are in a close race at the end of the season winning these four divisional games will be very important as tie breakers mean everything when it comes to division rivals. These four meetings should all be closely contested since both teams are evenly matched up.
The Grizzlies may have an advantage over the Mavericks since they do know how O.J. Mayo plays and they should be able to defend their former player. That should be one of the keys to the Grizzlies success over this Dallas team. They are going to need to hold Mayo under 10 points since he will be the Mavericks guy to score most of the points other than Dirk Nowitzki. That’s step one. Step two will need to use the strength of Zach Randolph to power his way into the paint pass both Elton Brand and Chris Kaman of the Mavericks. Everyone knows that Randolph will most likely get his 20 points against Dallas and to do so the Grizzlies need to use the multiple weapons they have. They are going to need to get Marc Gasol involved both on the offensive and defensive end. He is going to need to defend Dirk Nowitzki who may be the only player on the team that has a shot in defending him. Gasol is a great shot blocker and he will go after loose balls and rebounds when need be. If Randolph can provide a defense against either of the Mavs big men then Gasol will easily get to the basket for his two points.
For the Mavericks take the division series against the Grizzlies they need to do what Memphis will do against them. They need to bodies on both Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Make the force up shots around the paint and get that rebound to advance down the court for an easy two. Using the two young guards in Mayo and Darren Collison they should be able to easily control the tempo of the game and that could be a key to the Mavs success in these four games. Of course there’s Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter who all can score 20 plus points and if the aging Carter is able to hit over 18 points in either of the four games the Mavericks should have an easy win with Nowitzki, Mayo, Collison, Brand and/or Kaman scoring in double digits.
Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE
vs Detroit Pistons
—–LAST SEASON RESULTS—– —–UPCOMING MEETINGS—–
JAN 10 @ DETROIT: W 100-86 DEC 1 @ DALLAS
MAVS WON SERIES 1-0 MAR 8 @ DETROIT
These two match ups between the Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons should be an easy walk away for the Mavs. The Pistons are going through a rebuilding stage and having five rookies set to go there’s no doubt that Detroit will have a tough season ahead of them. They still have veterans in Tayshaun Prince and Corey Maggette to go along with young talent in Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight. However, I believe that eventually before the trade deadline that the Pistons may trade either Maggette and/or Prince to add more young talent or draft picks for the next two or three years. They do have a bright future ahead of them and could become a playoff contending team in the next five years, but this year will be a long and painful ride for Pistons fans.
I really do not see the Pistons beating the Mavericks in either of the two games, but to do so they are going to need to slow down both Collison and Mayo and force them to make bad decisions throughout the game. Monroe will need to use his strength to defend Brand, Kaman and Nowitzki in the paint to go along with Marion’s drive to the basket. If luck is on the Pistons side and Nowitzki is having a awful night in shooting the Pistons could take advantage of that to steal either of the two games. However if Nowitzki does get his 25-30 points against the Pistons then there’s no chance for this young Detroit team to stop them.
That is the key for the Mavericks in beating the Pistons. This is a game that the Mavericks want where they can rest their key guys. If the Mavericks are up by 15-20 points after the first half then Nowitzki will most likely sit out for most of that second half. That’s where the rookies that the Mavericks have in Jae Crowder, James Bernard and Jared Cunningham come into play. This is a game for these three rookies to show what they have if the Mavericks are up big. The Mavericks just needs to use both Brand and Kaman in the paint to help the Mavs get up by double digits in the lead. That’s it and it’s that simple. They just need to go out and do it. These are the type of games that a team like the Mavs are suppose to win and that should be an easy “W”.
