watched a bit of the nba show on espn (fast break?), during which allan houston and greg anthony shared from personal experience instances where another team had dominated theirs in the regular season, but got blown out by them in the playoffs. the point: the playoffs are a different beast, that a series is more physical and intense and provides more of an opportunity to adjust to an opponent.

also, they argued that dallas’ mindset is that they have their sights set on a big prize (a championship); and if they’re worried about matchup issues with a lowly 8th seed, then they have big problems.

valid points, i thought.

Roy Shut Down
Apr 17 – As expected, the Trail Blazers have shut down the season of rookie Brandon Roy, citing a desire to protect his sore knees from further injury.

Roy continues to say he could play despite the swelling in his right knee, and tendonitis in his left knee, but he said he agreed with the decision that was made in a meeting that included general manager Kevin Pritchard, head coach Nate McMillan and himself.

“It was a tough decision because you hate to leave guys out there playing,” Roy said. If we were playing for the playoffs, I would be able to play. But at the end of the day, we’re not, and that’s just the honest truth about it.” — The Oregonian

OR, I say the W’s rough them up in the first quarter. If I’m Nellie I do one of those Isaiah Thomas things and tell AJ that if he see’s Dirk or Howard on the floor, Josh Powell will make sure they get a head start on their summer vacations!

It’s key that we give the Mavs a reason to sit their stars. The only way to do this is to crush them early and make AJ show his hand.

The only thing in the Warriors favor on that score is that Dallas isn’t fighting for their lives, so don’t have as much riding on the game, even though as you’ve all said they’d like to avoid the Ws in the playoffs. But do or die desperation can work wonders in the fourth quarter of a tough game.

Let’s hope the players know that! (From quotes from Nellie and Jack I read, it sounds like they do)

i just hoping that the w’s wont have a letdown, thinking they are in the playoffs, and stopped the type of aggressiveness and drive that we’ve been seeing the past few weeks.

btw, if you want to look back on the season, dont forget those blown 4th quarter leads against teams like the bucks. there were about 2-3 games that the w’s should have and could have won.

1) pride: the warriors are 2-0 against the mavs this year, with four wins over the last two years. this, to a team that dallas likely considers inferior. so it’s not just another game to them.

2) the warriors have shown themselves to be a matchup problem for dallas, so given a choice of first round foe, between gsw and lac, the mavs probably prefer a team they’ve beat up on, lac. and a way to further that agenda is to beat the w’s tomorrow.

3) lingering cuban/nellie resentment.