<div align="center"> vs <font color="Blue">Dallas Mavericks (3-2) v</font><font color="Green">s New Orleans Hornets(2-2)</font> Date: Saturday November 12, 2005 Time: 9:30 (Local) Place: @ Oklahoma City <font size="5">Project Starting Lineups</font> THE LOWDOWN: Dallas showed last week that they don't play that well on the second night of a back to back by getting spanked by Utah, but the game against Charlotte definately wasn't as intense compared to the 2OT Phoenix one. Our main focus should be exploiting the mismatch with Dirk and whoever marks him and try to get Dirk 30+ points. Hopefully Josh Howard has a big game, who knows..we may even see him on Chris Paul for a while, but he should capitalise on his opponent - Bostjan Nachbar MAIN MATCHUP vs Jason Terry has to not let Chris Paul run him ragged this game, breaking down New Orleans offense and stopping ball movement. Hopefully Paul, like any other rookie, shows inconsistensy and Terry just dominates him with shooting Dallas Last Game 98-88 win over Charlotte Oklahoma Last Game 83-88 loss to Orlando</div>
Lets just hope that Dirk is ok and in good enough shape to play. That and I hope Terry shows up because to me he seems weak on defence as it is.
I think Dirk will be alright. He probably would have scored 30+ if Harris hadnt steeped up and scored 13 in the 3rd. THe main players that need to step up to make the Mavs starting line up complete is Dampier and Christie. More Scoring from them will help.
Dallas should and will win this game, or else I will be very disapointed. A question to the Hornets, why in the world is Bostjan Nachbar starting over Desmond Mason? Mavericks- 113 Hornets-88
I was thinking the exact same thing, but I decided to follow the DMN Preview <font size="+2">Mavericks at Hornets preview </font> <font size="+1">Saturday, 7 p.m., Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Ch. 21; ESPN-FM (103.3), KFLC-AM (1270, Spanish) </font> <font size="-1">09:32 PM CST on Friday, November 11, 2005 </font> <font size="-1">By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News </font> Key matchup: Chris Paul vs. Jason Terry As the No. 4 overall pick of the 2005 draft, expectations are high for 6-0 point guard Chris Paul. He showed his upside with 15 points and eight assists in a win at Houston on Wednesday. As usual with rookies, he's been inconsistent. But he's the leading scorer among rookies (12.8) and is averaging 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists. The franchise is pinning its future on Paul and J.R. Smith in the backcourt. They have boundless energy but make lots of mistakes. Terry will have to bottle some energy on the second night of a back-to-back. He averaged only 9.5 points against the Hornets in four meetings last season. Inside the Mavericks First time for everything: The Mavericks may be the first team in NBA history to make the unusual Charlotte-Oklahoma City run for back-to-back games. Originally, tonight's game was to be played in New Orleans. "It's weird," Avery Johnson said. "I was looking at getting some gumbo in New Orleans." Hurricane Katrina displaced the Hornets. Briefly: Devin Harris was tied for sixth in the league in field goal percentage entering Friday's game, making 60 percent from the field. Take away the 8-for-8 against San Antonio, and he's 7-for-17. ... The Mavericks have spread around the passes so far. No Maverick was in the league's top 30 in assists going into Friday's game. Inside the Hornets Key to their success: In both of their victories, center P.J. Brown has posted a double- double. With Jamaal Magloire traded to Milwaukee, Brown is the main man in the middle. Brown has averaged 19 points and 11.5 rebounds in the Hornets' wins, 6.5 points and seven rebounds in their losses. Briefly: Chris Paul (20) and J.R. Smith (20) made history as the youngest duo to start in the backcourt on opening night since 1970 ... Small forward remains a bit of a problem for them with Bostjan Nachbar and Rasual Butler shooting a combined 13-of-43 (30.2 percent). Probable starters Linkage
Mavs Keys to the game Who guards JR: 20-year-old J.R. Smith, right, might be the Hornets' future but he has had his ups and downs so far with six points in each of the past two games. Smith won't find much relief because the Mavs can throw Doug Christie, Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels at the 6-foot-6 swingman. Going deep: The Hornets' starting lineup has talent, but their bench, outside of Speedy Claxton, who leads them in scoring at 17.8 points a game, is lacking. The Mavs can go 10 deep, an advantage in back-to-backs. Backing up Dirk: How will Dirk Nowitzki's sore back hold up after playing 40 minutes Friday. DFWST
I think that the Hornets have a shot at an upset in this game. They're off to a hot start (2-2) with blowout wins over Sacramento and Houston, two "projected" top seeds in the West. Chris Paul has probably been the best rookie in the league so far, and the number's he's putting up have reflected that - 12.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.8 apg, and 2.3 spg. I also think that Desmond Mason's performances recently have been great. He's starting to finally pick up the offense after being traded just a little more than a week before the start of the season. He may be benching and averaging under seven points per game now, but once the season gets further underway and he understands the offense better, he'll probably become the star of the team, so I'd look for him to have a decent game. Anyway, my prediction is a Mavericks win, but I think it'll be closer than most people think: Mavericks - 99, Hornets - 95. It should be a fun game to watch. Oh yeah, and nice preview!
