Originally Posted by
babaoriley
Ah, back from vacation (where I didn't have internet, which explains my absence from this board since Thursday)...Dallas will win tonight because the league NEEDS them to win tonight, plain and simple. The FT disparity will be huge (think Spurs-Nuggets in game 1 of their series or Phoenix-LA in game 3 of their series)---both 14 point swings at the stripe, and both losing teams only mustered 12 FT Attempts in each contest.
So, if GS gets hosed by a bunch of ticky-tack calls (pretty much a certainty) and Dallas attempts 33 FT's to GS's 15--especially considering how good Dallas usually is from the FT line--then Dallas will win and maybe win big.
Tonight will be about the refs. Either they show up and Dallas gets an obscene home court advantage (and likely wins by 10+) or they call a fair game and Golden State hangs and probably even wins. Davis, Jackson and Richardson present significant matchup problems as all are big, strong and versatile. I'm betting G.S (small) but my head is telling me that the refs will give this one to the Mavs. The NBA needs this series to go 6 or 7, and historically, that means the NBA will get a game 6 and maybe 7.