Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets Game 4 Preview
Wasn’t this supposed to be happening in the other series?
Instead of the Los Angeles Lakers having an easy time of it with the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers are deadlocked at 2-all with the Rockets, and it’s the Denver Nuggets who are on the verge of finishing off the sweep against the Dallas Mavericks.
After two double-digit wins at home to take a commanding lead, Denver kept it close throughout Game 3 in Dallas, and they pounced on opportunity when it opened up.
Mavericks players, coach Rick Carlisle, and owner Mark Cuban were all angry after the end of Game 3, when Dallas’ Antoine Wright didn’t get whistled for attempting to foul Carmelo Anthony in the final seconds with Dallas up 105-103, which freed Anthony up to nail a 3 with a second left to give the Nuggets the win.
The Mavericks can be bitter about it all they want to, and the no-call may have unfairly gone against them, but the fact of the matter is that they let one get away, and it wasn’t because of the officials. Anytime you let a four-point lead slip away in the final minute, it’s on you, it’s not on the officials, plain and simple. Even in that last-second sequence, Anthony bobbled the ball and still had to make a tough shot with the clock running down. Great players make great plays in clutch situations, and he did right there. Besides, who’s to say that even if the foul had been called that the outcome would have been different?
So, how are the Mavericks going to respond? A 3-0 deficit is a mountain that’s nigh on impossible to climb, considering that they aren’t nearly consistently good enough away from home to win twice in Denver, but they at least have a chance to take the series back to Denver, and all sorts of things can happen when you have the least little bit of positive momentum.
What’s it going to take for this series to go back to Denver? A better defensive effort by the Mavericks, for starters. After holding San Antonio below 100 in four of five games in their all-too-easy first-round series win against the Spurs, Denver has scored 109, 117, and 106 points in the first three games. Denver hasn’t exactly been a fortress on the defensive end themselves, so if the Mavericks can hold the Nuggets under 100, I like their chances to win.
The Nuggets have enough leeway at this point where they can lose Game 4 and not have any panic, because I don’t see Dallas coming into Denver and winning Game 5 after they got whipped in the first two games in Denver.
No surprise that the NBA betting odds have Dallas favored by a small margin tonight, but personally, this is one that I’m going to hold off on taking any action on until the second half, simply because I want to see how Dallas plays out of the gate. Are they going to play the good kind of desperate basketball, when you know you have to bring your best and then some to stay alive? Or are they going to play the bad kind of desperate basketball, where you force opportunities instead of just playing the kind of game that got you to this point? If it’s the former, then they could live to play at least one more game, but if they don’t, it’s curtains for their season.
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