Spurs Look to Even Series with Mavericks Wednesday Night

The San Antonio Spurs will look to put a terrible defensive performance in game 1 behind them as they try to even their series against the Dallas Mavericks at 1 game apiece on Wednesday. San Antonio has been a perennial playoff team for over a decade now, and ended the season on a hot streak despite being thought of as being too old and past their window of opportunity. On the other hand, Dallas has been looked at as being the brides-maid and never the bride for several years now. They are loaded with talent, but can never find a way to get to the Finals.

Dirk Nowitzki is still at the peak of his game. This season he is averaging 25 points, almost 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game as he has led the Mavericks to the #2 seed in the competitive Western conference. Jason Terry is quietly one of the most under-rated players in the league as he is averaging 16.6 points and almost 4 assists per game this year. The addition of Caron Butler may end up being the difference maker this season for the Mavs as they look to get to the NBA Finals. He has taken a lesser role with Dallas, but is a key component to their success this year.

The Mavericks strength is their depth off of the bench. Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden and Brendan Haywood all have the ability to increase leads when they’re on the floor. Defensively they have improved dramatically. If they can hold teams down, and make the key shots that are needed in order to win big games, they will have a very good chance to get to the Western Conference Finals.

San Antonio will need to double their efforts from Sunday if they hope to be competitive in this series. They were one of the hottest teams in the league after the All-Star break, and looked as though they would have an opportunity to get home court for the first round. Now that they have settled into the 7 seed, they will have to fight hard to get out of the first round.

The Spurs rely on defense to win games. They allowed just 96 point per game this year, while averaging over 101. They may not have one player who has the ability to take over a game, but they have several that can score in a variety of ways. Tim Duncan still leads this veteran team in scoring with a 18 point per game average, but he now relies on the other starters more than in years past. The addition of Richard Jefferson was supposed to be the final piece to the puzzle, but he has disappointed for most of the season. His 12.3 points per game is well below his career average, and he seems to disappear for stretches during the course of a game. Manu Ginobili is a feisty guard that can score from anywhere on the court. He makes it tough for defenders as he can go to the basket or shoot from the perimeter. He will need to have a huge series if the Spurs are to have any chance of advancing.

Expect a much more physical game Wednesday night as San Antonio will need to hold the Mavs under 100 points if they are to steal a game on a road.

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4. Lakers look to even Series with Win Wednesday
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