Mavericks & Hornets lock up in Western Conference Battle

The Dallas Mavericks took down the last undefeated team in the league on Monday night. They will try to beat the New Orleans Hornets for the second straight game as they play them Wednesday in the second of back to back games.

New Orleans is comprised of one of the best point guards if not “the” best point guard in the league, and a strong cast of solid position players that dot their jobs to a “T”. Chris Paul is scary good! He is quick and fast, and has the ability to make opposing guards look stupid. He’s scoring just 17.6 points per game, but that’s because he’s more of a pure point guard that puts more emphasis on passing than shooting. He is the perfect PG for a team that is lacking in players that can score off of the dribble. David West is the recipient of many of those perfect passes, and makes the most of them. His 16.2 points per game are mostly contributed to spot up shooting with little or no defensive resistance.

The rest of this Hornets squad are relatively unknown. Emeka Okafor was a stud in college, but has not brought that dominance over to the pro game. Like most of the New Orleans starters, he a huge benefactor of having Paul leading the offense. He’s averaging 12 points and 9 rebounds per game, and is playing his position to the best of his ability. Trevor Ariza showed with the Lakers that he can be one of the best players at his position if he’s but in a good system. Fortunately for Ariza he went to a team with a great system. It may be too early to tell, but NBA handicappers are starting to take notice of this Hornets squad, and are increasing their odds to win the Western conference as the season goes on.

As well as they have been playing, the still need to prove themselves against the best teams in their conference. The Mavericks have been and still are a force in the West. Dirk Nowitzki is one of 4 Dallas players that plays great individually. They may be the exact 180 degree opposite of New Orleans as they win based on pure talent. Mark Cuban has brought in talented scorers from other teams, and has created a dynamic offense that is capable of keeping pace with any team in the league. The one downside for the Mavericks maybe on the defensive side of the ball. Despite the fact that they have so much talent shooting the ball, they play a half court style of basketball. Instead of running and gunning, they like to set up and work a team from the inside out. Allowing just 92 points a game may seem to be a sign of tremendous defense, but the speed of their offense tends to slow their contest down.

Both New Orleans and Dallas will be fighting all season long to keep pace with the defending Champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are also off to a great start as they try for a 3-peat under coach Phil Jackson. They look like the team to beat, but the Hornets and Mavericks think otherwise. Tune in Wednesday night as these teams battle in their second game against each other in 3 days.

Related posts:

1. Mavericks host Suns in Western Conference Shootout
2. Western Conference Finals Game 1: Mavericks vs. Thunder
3. NBA Elite Battle Friday: Celtics vs. Mavericks
4. Western Conference Finals Game 5: Phoenix vs. Los Angeles
5. Lakers vs. Mavericks in Second Round Showdown

Comments