The Mavericks laid an egg last night and now their season is over. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks last night with 33 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Caron Butler also did his part finishing with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots. Rodrigue Beaubois was solid off the bench for the Mavs last night with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 21 minutes on the floor. The Mavericks disappointing lose this series 4-2 to the division and state rival San Antonio Spurs.

The Mavericks destroyed the Spurs last night as they outrebounded them 52-41 and they held them to 35.9% shooting from the floor!  Caron Butler had his best game ever for the Mavericks with 35 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Dirk Nowitzki also filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Shawn Marion (10 points), Jason Terry (12 points) and Jason Kidd (10 points) all pitched in offensively for the Mavericks in this game.  The Mavericks are now down 3-2 in this series so they can’t afford any slip ups the rest of this series…..they have to bring their A-Game.

The Mavericks got sucked into playing the Spurs kind of game and it’s very hard to beat them that way. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavs with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in this game. Caron Butler also had a solid game with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Shawn Marion pitched in with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in this contest. Jason Kidd (10 points), Jason Terry (13 points) and Brendan Haywood (10 points) pitched in offensively in the game for the Mavericks. The Mavericks are now a desperate team as they are down 3-1 to the Spurs in this series.

The Mavericks were outscored 28-20 in the 4th quarter of this game and it doomed them in the end. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks as usual in this game with 35 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jason Terry also had a decent game with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench. Jose Juan Barea played 32 minutes in this game off the bench finishing with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The Mavericks are now down 2-1 in this series.

The Spurs dictated the pace and how this game was played and it hurt the Mavericks badly last night. The Mavericks only shot 36.5% from the floor last night and they were outrebounded 51-42 which did them in. You can’t blame Jason Terry for this loss as he led the way for the Mavericks in this game with 27 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 41 minutes off the bench. Dirk Nowitzki had a tough night for the Mavs shooting only 9 of 24 from the floor as he finished up with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Caron Butler also had a rough night shooting only 6 of 17 from the floor and finishing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. The Mavericks are tied 1-1 in this series as they travel to San Antonio this weekend.

The Mavericks played tough around the basket in this game outrebounding the Spurs 45-37 and it was a big reason for a tough fought win last night. Dirk Nowitzki was on fire last night as he shot 12 of 14 from the floor to finish with 36 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot to lead the way for the Mavericks. Caron Butler also had a really solid game finishing with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals last night. Jason Kidd was excellent running the offense yesterday for the Mavs as he finished up with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. Brendan Haywood had 10 points and 6 rebounds in only 18 minutes on the court for the Mavs in this game. The Mavericks are up 1-0 in this series.

This is a playoff series between two heated Texas rivals. I’m thinking this could be an upset in the first round if the Mavericks don’t bring their A-Game every night. Here is a closer look at the matchups in this series:

Point Guard: Tony Parker is going to play big minutes in this series as he’s back from his broken hand. Parker played in 56 games (50 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He is not a pure point guard like Jason Kidd but he plays big when the games really count in the post season and he has the rings to prove it.

Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards in NBA history but he’s starting to slow down a bit. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 36.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is tougher around the basket than Parker is.

EDGE: EVEN

Shooting Guard: The Spurs will likely use Manu Ginobili in the starting lineup in this series. He will pose a couple of problems for the Mavericks as he’s smaller and faster than Caron Butler is. Ginobili played in 75 games (21 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He has never seen a big shot that he didn’t want to take in his career.

Caron Butler is a solid defensive player and he should have little problem posting up Ginobili down low. Butler played in 27 games (all starts) for the Mavericks after coming over in a trade with the Wizards and he averaged 34.4 minutes, 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

EDGE: EVEN

Small Forward: Richard Jefferson is likely going to start at small forward for the Spurs in this series. He got benched for a while but he picked up his game instead of sulking on the bench. Jefferson played in 81 games (70 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 31.1 minutes, 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Jefferson is better than that and the playoffs is the reason they traded for him.

Shawn Marion is starting to slow down a bit as a player. He does all of the little things the Mavericks need to win games. Marion played in 75 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

EDGE: EVEN

Power Forward: This will be the matchup to watch in this series. Tim Duncan vs. Dirk Nowitzki. Duncan still has a lot left in his gas tank. He played in 78 games (77 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. I think the Spurs are going to keep Duncan on Nowitzki all of the time defensively which will be fun to watch.

Dirk Nowitzki is still an incredible player to behold. He can shoot like a guard but he’s tough enough to go into the paint and rebound too. He is like a modern day Larry Bird (minus the titles). Nowitzki played in 81 games (80 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 37.5 minutes, 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Look for the other Mavericks players to benefit if Duncan comes out of the paint to guard Nowitzki in this series.

EDGE: EVEN

Center: Antonio McDyess will likely start at center for the Spurs in this series. He played in 77 games (50 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 21.0 minutes, 5.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. McDyess will likely play around half of the game focusing on defense and rebounding.

Erick Dampier will get the call for the Mavericks. He played in 55 games (47 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 23.3 minutes, 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Dampier should be motivated now that he is back in the starting lineup.

EDGE: EVEN

BENCH: The Spurs have a pretty solid bunch coming off the bench for them in this series. George Hill will likely get the most P.T. of this bunch. He can play either guard spot. Hill played in 78 games (43 starts) this season for the Mavericks and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. DeJuan Blair will also get a lot of P.T. in this series. The rookie played in 82 games (23 starts) for the Spurs this season and he averaged 18.2 minutes, 7.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Matt Bonner will also get a lot of P.T. in this series as he is a big man with a nice outside shot. Bonner played in 65 games (8 starts) this season for the Spurs and he averaged 17.9 minutes, 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Roger Mason and Keith Bogans are both small forward/shooting guard types who will also likely get some minutes in this series.

Jason Terry is a great offensive player off the bench for the Mavericks. He played in 77 games (12 starts) for the Mavericks this year and he averaged 33.0 minutes, 16.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. I look for him to have a good series for the Mavericks. Brendan Haywood will likely play around half of the game at center in this series. He played in 28 games (19 starts) for the Mavericks this season averaging 26.5 minutes, 8.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Jose Juan Barea, Rodrigue Beaubois, DeShawn Stevenson and Eduardo Najera could also get some P.T. in this series.

EDGE: EVEN

Coach: Gregg Popovich is a big time basketball coach. He led the Spurs to a 50-32 record (61%) this season. Popovich has a 14-year record of 736-362 (67%) as the Spurs’ head coach during the regular season. Pop has a 102-63 (61.8%) record in his post season career with the Spurs and he has led them to 4 NBA Championships. He will be ready for this series.

Rick Carlisle led the Mavericks to a 55-27 record (67.1%) this season. He now has a two year record of 105-59 (64%) with the Mavericks. He is 5-5 (50%) in his post season career with the Mavericks. Carlisle is a good basketball coach so I look for him to have his team ready for what awaits in this series.

EDGE: SPURS

PREDICTION: I think the Spurs are going to be highly motivated for this series. I think they will upset the Mavericks in a 7 game series for the ages.

22-year old shooting guard Rodrigue Beaubois showed glimpses of greatness as a rookie for the Mavericks this year. On March 27th against the Warriors (I know they never play D), Beaubois was incredible as he scored 40 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and he blocked 3 shots in only 30 minutes on the basketball court. He shot 9 of 11 from three point range in that game! But he didn’t get consistent playing time on the Mavericks who are a very veteran laden team. Overall, Beaubois played in 56 games (16 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 12.5 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He also shot the lights out this season for the Mavericks hitting 51.8% from the floor, 40.9% from three point range and he hit 80.8% from the free throw line. The Mavericks would not include Beaubois in any trade at the deadline in February. He could really do some damage in the playoffs if he gets some P.T.

The Mavericks played last night like it was just another game while the Spurs rested Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Caron Butler led the way for the Mavericks last night with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Dirk Nowitzki also had a solid game last night with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Jason Kidd was excellent last night, as usual, finishing with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The Mavericks finish the regular season with a 55-27 record earning them a re-match with the Spurs in the NBA Playoffs starting this weekend.

The Mavericks rushed out to a 99-69 lead after the first three quarters last night before calling off the dogs. They shot an amazing 54.2% from the floor last night! Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks last night with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Shawn Marion pitched in with 21 points in only 26 minutes last night. Jason Kidd did a great job of running the offense finishing with 12 points and 12 assists last nght. Jason Terry (12), Rodrigue Beaubois (11) and DeShawn Stevenson (11 points) all pitched in on offense for the Mavericks in this game. The Mavericks are now 54-27 on the season as they currently have the #2 seed in the Western Conference.