Dallas Mavericks
For nearly a decade, the Lakers and Mavericks have avoided meeting each other in the playoffs. How that’s happened remains a mystery. It appears now more than ever, that their meeting with Dallas en route to the finals is eminent.
The Lakers and Mavericks may not have history as precedent to draw conclusions, but they’ve sure made things interesting throughout the years. However, most of it has come outside the lines of the basketball court.
Prior to just about any meeting between these two powerhouses, Mavs owner Mark Cuban and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson almost always have something to say to each other through the media. Just before the Lakers’ most recent game against Dallas, it went something like this. Cuban takes a jab at Ron Artest’s game offensively, or lack thereof. Jackson responds to the tune of, “[Cuban] just sits behind the bench with his suntanned face and has to make comments like that…I know that he’s provided a great roster that’s almost as good as money can buy. But not quite.”
The Mavericks have the size to match up against the Lakers, at least in theory. They also have a guy by the name of Jason Terry who hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the Lakers after his flagrant foul on Steve Blake, resulting in Matt Barnes’ one-game suspension. After the incident, Terry was just as vocal as Cuban saying that Barnes “is a guy who is as soft as Charmin toilet paper.”
No response was given by Barnes—yet that is. It’ll be interesting to see just how a seven-game series transcribes between these two teams.
Let the playoffs begin.