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NBA Basketball Saturday: Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks
Dec 8th
The Utah Jazz (11-5) have gotten off to a solid start, taking an early lead in the Northeast division. The Mavericks (10-5) have also gotten off to a decent start, but nothing compared to their league leading 67 wins last year. A nasty streak of three loses in four games, have fans wondering if this will be a constant theme, or if they will be able to turn things around as they get deeper into the season.
The Jazz have been a team on the brink of a lot of success the last few seasons. They have a solid mix of veterans and young players that have made this team one of the most feared to play in the league. Carlos Boozer is averaging over 25 points a game, with Deron Williams continuing to improve his game every night out.
The Mavericks have almost the same team they had last year, but without the success. I’m guessing though that they would trade a few more losses for a few more wins in the playoffs, not that that is what they are trying for. Dirk Nowitzki leads the team in scoring, which took about 15 games to happen, which comes as a shock.
Tough game to predict in this one. With the Mavericks struggling a little, I tend to favor the Jazz by the slimiest of margins. The winner in this one will hopefully get their team on track to do big things this season.
NBA Sunday: LA Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors
Dec 9th
In the first round of the NBA playoffs last year the Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks in one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. The Warriors (7-7) have hoped to capitalize on that success, but to this point in the season they are trying now just to stay above .500. As of this writing they have won four in a row and five of six as Baron Davis has started playing like an all-star. His 24 points a game. 8.6 assists, 2 steals makes him the team leader in every category.
The Lakers go as Kobe goes. As predicted, Bryant is leading the team in scoring. While Golden State would like to do better then their eighth seeding last year, the Lakers would be more than happy just to get into the dance. The Lakers have just extended the contract of legendary coach Phil Jackson for two years, so they still think Jackson is the one to lead them out of mediocrity. With a supporting cast that fails to live up to expectations though, this seems like it could be a bigger challenge then even the great Jackson can handle.
The Warriors are on a roll, and I don’t expect it to end here. They are playing some of the hottest basketball in the league, and I expect them to be more than a few games above .500 in the next 15 to 20 ball games. I don’t think they will need the final week of the season to make the playoffs this year.
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