Dallas at San Antonio tonight… Texas plays Kansas City in the first preseason game… Stars play Phoenix. It is a wonderful day in the world of sports. Baseball, basketball, and hockey played on one grand day. Being the first game of preseason, I won’t make a call as to a winner… at this point, the teams will be looking at who they will want to fill in the “extra” and undecided spots on the roster, and so many people will be looked at who normally wouldn’t be getting major league at-bats. The Euless Mudcats are in the playoffs in the Bush League, as are the SGP Warriors. Both will be playing for the division championship and a berth into the Tournament of Champions. And how did they do it, how did they get there? Pitching, pitching, and pitching… did I mention pitching? Both teams finished 2nd in their divisions, one game behind first place. On a personal note, I have been having some leg pain now for well over a year. I checked webMD.com just a while a go, and come to find out, the possibilities that popped up concerned me… I did not know that prostate cancer could cause leg pain, nor blood clots… although I wasn’t really surprised about the blood clots. The prostate cancer was a huge surprise, though. I once had polyps on my prostate in middle school and I know my prostate is enlarged… I seriously have to talk to my doctor about that.
Stars (38-17-3) and Phoenix (27-28-4):
I could cop out and simply just say Stars because they are better… after all, the Stars did beat them 5 to 1 going into the Olympic break (on 2/9/06). Phoenix has lost their last four, Dallas, there last two. In 58 games for the Stars, they have scored 184 goals. In 59 games for the Coyotes, they have scored 167 goals. The Coyotes have more games and fewer goals than the Stars. Stars are averaging 3.17 goals per game… whereas the Coyotes average 2.83 goals per game. Phoenix also averages 27.69 shots per game… Dallas has an average of 29.08 per game… and if you don’t put up the shot, it definitely won’t go in. Opponents against the Stars score 2.69 goals per game and for Phoenix it’s 3.22 per game. Phoenix let’s there opponents shoot, too. In fact, it’s almost 30 shots a game (29.44 to be exact). Dallas has the best stat here in the west… allowing only 25.32 shots per game… Big D is in Dallas for sure. Unfortunately for Dallas, if the goalie was a little better, then fewer would go in, but doesn’t that go without saying… that’s probably the dumbest quote I’ve ever said. Of course if the goalie was better, then fewer goals would go in, DUH! So, Dallas is going to repeat with a victory over Phoenix because they are better… and I’ve stated why, so it’s not a cop out (score 5-2).
Texas over Kansas City because Tex and Young will be playing before heading off to the WBC… (I couldn’t resist; its baseball for crying out load!)
NOW, the game of all games… the paper is hyping it up, the internet is hyping it up, but AJ is the only one saying it’s not a big game… but I can’t see him telling his players that. The Mavs in San Antonio… now, I have said before, and I will say it here and now… the Mavs are going to win this one and slowly push the Spurs away… I’ve said that the Mavs will win the division and not by just one game but by several… and I still hold to that. And why do I say this? The Mavs have too many weapons, they know how to use them, and they are playing as a team offensive and more importantly, defensively. AJ has made them a more dynamic team. And for once, I truly believe this team can make it to the finals and walk away with storage material. Look for big games from Duncan and Finley from the Spurs, but also look for big games from Stack, Terry, and Howard. Dirk will play, but I personally don’t see his game coming as a big factor to the Mavs tonight. More so, I think the bench is going to be the reason why the Mavs will take this game and upset SO many fans from the Riverwalk. If they haven’t already, they need to dye that river green, because the fans will need to have something to relate too (IE: green with envy). This is the game everyone wants to see… so what about Tony Parker? What about him? He’s a chump… no, not really, but he’ll try to play… I expect AJ to put some focus on him. He’s third in Field Goal % and Johnson is going to try to contain him, more so than anyone else. Diop and Dampier will be working hard… Parker is averaging 27 points a game against Dallas… Dirk 24 against the spurs. Dallas averages 100.3 points per game (7th in NBA), San Antonio 94.9 (21st). Defensively, Dallas gives up 93.1 points (8th best in NBA), Spurs 87.9 points (1st). So, not much comparison between Dallas’ defense to Spurs offense… it would appear the Spurs aren’t going to score at will… they normally don’t… but the key is the Spurs D versus the Mavs O. Can the best defense stop the #7 offense in the NBA? I think they can to some degree, but it won’t be enough to allow the Spurs to win the game. The Mavs walk away from this one, first in the West and a 2 game lead over the Spurs, 94-90.
Forecast: Coyotes take this one with a score of 3-2.
Dallas is 10-12-4 (10-16, adjusted) and Phoenix is 12-13-2 (12-15, adjusted). I know the Stars have been doing better than usual lately... but I will tell you... I just can't say that they will win. So... uh... don't expect me to say that they will when you get to the forecast.
Forecast: Phoenix wins it 3-2 in overtime.
Forecast: As expected, the Stars drop this one to the Coyotes, 3-1.
