Details: Who: (22-20) vs (28-16) Where: Key Arena When: Saturday, Jan 27th, 9pm TV: KTXA, NBALP Projected Lineups: PG: Brent Barry/Antonio Daniels/Luke Ridnour SG: Ray Allen/Ronald Murray/Richie Frahm SF: Rashard Lewis/Vladimir Radmanovic PF: Vladimir Radmanovic/Reggie Evans/Calvin Booth C: Jerome James/Calvin Booth/Vitaly Potapenko Coached by Nate McMillan PG: Steve Nash/Travis Best SG: Michael Finley/Travis Best SF: Josh Howard/Antawn Jamison/Michael Finley PF: Antoine Walker/Antawn Jamison C: Dirk Nowitzki/Shawn Bradley Coached by Don Nelson Injury List: Nick Collison: shoulder, season. Richie Frahm: right knee tendinitis, on IL. Maverick Injury List Marquis Daniels: flu, doubtful. Danny Fortson: infected tooth, doubtful. Tony Delk: srpained left ankle, indefinite. Tariq Abdul-Wahad: left knee tendinitis, on IL. Jon Steffansson: sprained left ankle, on IL. Eduardo Najera: sore left knee, on IL. Analysis: Two teams on winning streaks, but of different magnitudes. The Sonics come in off the back of two straight home wins over Golden State and the Clippers, and are starting to establish their home court as just that. However Dallas have won eight straight, and come off a nine point win over the league leading Kings. The Mavericks are much better at home, but they are more than capable of winning on their travels too. Seattle will need another big game from Ray Allen, who dropped 41 on the Clippers, and will need former Dallas target Rashard Lewis to play to the level he is capable of. They say defense wins games, and it may be the team that actually plays some comes away with this one. Is Offense the best Defense? Dallas have long been testaments of this theory, but Seattle's 22-20 record probably doesn't suffice as much. Dallas are ranked 2nd in the league in scoring, at 103.1 ppg, while Seattle rank 4th at 97.5. However, the Mavericks also rank 28th out of 29 teams in points allowed at 99.6, while the Sonics rank 27th at 98.2. Obviously this illustrates the potency of Dallas and the Kings as compared to the rest of the league. While the Mavs are only two places above Seattle in scoring, they outscore them by almost six points. This more than makes up for their defensive deficiencies, as neither team is much of a defensive outfit. However, Seattle have the big edge in three point percentage, and have won 20 of the last 26 against the Mavericks in Seattle. [quoteright]"It's a little bit hard for me right now to come off of the bench, because all season long I've been starting and I got used to it. When you go from good to bad, then it's harder than when you go from bad to good. I'm just trying to find my game again and play well for this team." - Seattle forward Vladimir Radmanovic.[/QUOTERIGHT] Key Factors: - Slow the game down. Many view Seattle as a poor man's Dallas, and while their natural game is based around running and shooting, the Mavericks are the master of this. Slowing the game down and frustrating Dallas is the way to go here, if they're not allowed to run then they're not as effective. Of course this is easier in theory than in practice, and will mean the Sonics will have to crash the offensive glass. - Defense. Two good games defensively against the Warriors and the Clippers, can the Sonics stop the NBA second most potent team? They stopped Sacramento, the league's best team offensively, simply by rotating quickly and getting a hand in the face of every shooter. They will need the same effort tonight. - Antoine Walker. Perhaps Dallas' most important player behind Nash, Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic will have to do a tight job here. Walker is among team leaders in points, rebounds and assists, and doubles as a playmaker when Nash isn't on court. It's ok to let him shoot it, but his post game and passing range are his most dangerous weapons. Key Matchup: Brent Barry vs Steve Nash For all their offensive firepower, Dallas' scoring still starts with one man: Steve Nash. The Canadian point guard is a master of controlling the tempo and playing the transition game, and the likes of Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison and Finley often score as a direct result of Nash's court vision and blinding speed and decision making. Brent Barry will not be able to stop Nash in any sense, but will hope to contain him by slowing the game down; the faster the game, the better Nash is. Barry has his own advantages however. He will look to shoot over Nash, such is his height advantage, and post him up whenever possible. For all his qualities, Nash is not by any means a strong defensive player, and Barry has the tools to match him offensively. X-Factors: Vitaly Potapenko - against a team like Dallas, a bit of bench toughness is always something that is effective, and Potapenko gives this to Seattle. He has been their bully all year inside, and the Sonics will again rely on him to add some toughness and rebounding. Antawn Jamison - arguably the best sixth man in the league, he will likely cause his fair share of problems for a defensively challenged Sonics outfit. One positive is that Rashard Lewis has a good record against him when playing the Warriors, however. <font size="1">Player photos and logo images courtesy of NBA.com </font>
Rumour has It Ray re-injuried his ankle in practise,anyone else hear this? As for the game,this could easily be a 115-110 kind of scoreline.If you like offense you need to watch this game.
I have a feeling this game will be over quickly, and if Ray did hurt his ankle in practice this game wont be close at all.... Dallas wont be stopped by the Sonics... im feelin a 113-97 score here :thumbsup:
Ah, another game Ive been waiting on! If the Mavericks dont contain Ray/Rashard they might be in trouble. Im going with the Mavs here Mavs by 1
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Rumour has It Ray re-injuried his ankle in practise,anyone else hear this? As for the game,this could easily be a 115-110 kind of scoreline.If you like offense you need to watch this game.</div> Yup he picked up a knock on the same ankle he had surgery on, but he's probable. Nate said he's not worried, I'm not either.
