That's because we're bad-ass, and the Dallas NaBitchskies are whining pansies. Well, the rest of them aren't too bad, but Eraserhead certainly is. Fear the Blazers! Trail Blazers in 5.
This is my thought as well. Blazers can't/won't win a Game 7 in Dallas. Couldn't do it in 2003, won't be able to do it this year. Gotta win one in Dallas and close them out in 6.
That was eight years ago and they had Steve Nash... plus, if you remember, Nick Van Exel absolutely destroyed us in that series. I think we would have won if not for him. He hit some AMAZING shots. Nick used to be so money, and then he was traded to GS, and then to us. Poor guy. He was probably one of the most clutch players in league history.
Nick hit some big shots in Game 7, but it was his poor shot selection in Games 4-6 that got us back into the series.
Here's a summary of Yahoo Sports' staff playoff predictions Note that 5 of the 6 pick the Blazers to win the series. Only Marc. J. Spears picks the Mavs (in 7), but then he also lists the Blazers over the Mavs as his possible upset. And he also talks about the Blazers upsetting the Mavs in this video. Sorry, couldn't get the video to embed in my post. So, you'll have to click on the link to see it. BNM
More from Yahoo Sports on Blazers upsetting the Mavs. This time, it's Kelly Dwyer's Ball Don't Lie blog. BNM
Also, from the Ball Don't Lie blog, this comment from Eric Freeman's Reputation Index cracked me up: "Nevertheless, Nowitzki has a reputation as a loser. And, with the Mavs looking nowhere near their best despite holding the third seed, a first-round exit would seriously harm Dirk's reputation for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, a convincing win over Portland (plus a strong second-round showing) would hopefully make everyone realize that Dirk is a pretty darned impressive playoff performer. Or maybe not. Europeans have terrible body odor and teach our children socialism, so they must be weak." BNM
Who cares? What the media thinks don't mean shit. It's entertaining to read while we wait for the games to be played, but it has no impact on what actually happens on the court. Let the Mavs think they are underdogs. Given their recent history of choking to lower seeds in the first round, any doubt in their minds is a good thing. It will only cause them to press more at he first sign they might lose this series. Favorites, underdogs, it doesn't matter. Their own fragile collective psyche will have a much bigger impact on their performance than anything that's written in the media. BNM