Is Dirk planning an early fishing trip?
Even earlier than last season?
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Warriors (W-L): 45-29
Mavericks (W-L): 46-28
Time: 6:30pm PST
TV: ESPN HD + ESPN 360 + ESPNdesportes
Radio: KNBR 1050
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You know what's at stake. Let me break it down for you en Español courtesy of ESPNdesportes:
Para reservar un lugar en el sillón
Los Mavericks, que no contarán con Dirk Nowitzki, se miden frente a los Warriors en un partido vital para ambos en la búsqueda de playoffs. Televisa ESPN desde las 21.30 ET
Para evitar otra derrota en manos de los Warriors, Nowitzki intentó volver a la cancha antes de lo previsto tras haber sufrido una dura lesión, pero desafortunadamente para los Mavericks, aún no está en condiciones para jugar el miércoles por la noche contra Golden State en un crucial enfrentamiento entre contendientes de la Conferencia Oeste que están intentando posicionarse en los playoffs.
My Spanish is admittedly terrible and I have no idea how I satisfied my high school language requirement or how I get around the fantástico streets of East Palo Alto, but I will say this: Esta es un debe ganar el juego!
(Shout out to my high school Spanish teacher Don!)
The Warriors couldn't have gotten this Texas 2-Step road trip off any worse. Last night they suffered an ugly loss to the San Antonio Snores with an uncomplimentary soundtrack provided by the homer Spurs announcing crew. It wasn't pretty. A loss tonight would be even less prettier. It would put the Dubs a full 2 games behind the Dallas My Little Ponies for the 7th spot and 1.5 games behind the Denver Nougats for the final invitation to the Western Conference Spring Dance.
Here's what I wrote about this monumental game in this week's edition of Counting W's for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area:
Wednesday April 2: Warriors at Mavericks
After getting down big early the Warriors came up even bigger when it was all said and done this past Sunday. But remember Dirk Nowitzski and Jerry Stackhouse were absent from that big game. This game in Dallas is going to be infinitely tougher. If the Mavs wise up and trot out an inside-outside combo of Brandon Bass and Dirk with Mr. Triple Double Jason Kidd creating easy opportunities for them, it could be a long night for the Warriors.
Shooting percentage-wise Dirk, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Stackhouse with Kidd dropping dimes should give the Mavs a big advantage over the Warriors. The key will be creating more possessions and more shot attempts for the Dubs. They're going to have to do this with deflections, steals, and blocks. The Warriors ability to force turnovers is going to be what makes or breaks this game for them. It's going to take focus and I think the Warriors have what it takes.
Also, do you really think the Warriors are going to lose the season series to the rival Mavs 3-1 this season? I don't.
Prediction: 1 more for the W column
As of 1:15pm today it looks like both Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse will not be playing in tonight's big game (See Dirk participates in shootaround, then rules himself out [AP]). That means there probably won't be any Ghost Riding the Dirk from Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes or any Warrior Killer efforts from Stack. That doesn't mean it's going to be an easy win in front of the soft Dallas crowd by any stretch, but it does mean that a loss here for the Warriors is completely inexcusable.
This is (almost) it.
Predictions:
- Warriors by 5 GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLS!
- Boom Dizzle, Stack Jack, and One Man Fast Break rebound from last night's Big 0.5 outing and give us the Big 3.
- Bay Area hoops legend Jason Kidd messes around and get a triple double.
- This game is 100x more entertaining than last night's.
- Josh Howard goes off for 25+ points and 8+ rebounds.
- GSoMers all watch the game in Spanish on ESPNdesportes.
Don't foget to check out our blogger rivals:
We've got a little fun history with these fellas.
Drop it like it's hot in the comments!
THROW UP THAT W!