#2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #3 Dallas Mavericks

How Lakers Got Here: Defeating Hornets in 6 games (Average Score: 97-89)

How Mavericks Got Here: Defeating Blazers in 6 games (Average Score: 93-88)

Season Series: Lakers Held 2-1 advantage.

1/19 - @ Dallas - 109-100 Mavericks - The Mavs trailed for much of the first half and third quarter but Jason Kidd and the bench helped turn things around going on a 25-9 run to end the third and take a lead they wouldn't lose. The most surprising aspect was Dirk went 5-for-15 and the Mavs still managed to shoot 55-percent from the field.

3/12 - @ Dallas - 96-91 Lakers - Bynum and Gasol combined to go 15-for-26 for 40 points and 20 boards as the Lakers dominated the paint.

3/31 - @ Los Angeles - 110-82 Lakers - Highlights from this game will be shown over and over again because of a scuffle in the fourth that resulted in four players getting ejected. For good measure, Shannon Brown became the fifth to be ejected later in the game. It was a physical game dominated by the Lakers. Nowitzki was the only Maverick able to do significant damage and his performance wasn't nearly enough.

Lakers' Biggest Weakness Exposed Round 1: Sometimes they have it - sometimes they don't. When the Lakers established the post game and players were boxing out, they could easily handle the Hornets but in the losses they were outhustled and muscled by a much smaller team.

Mavericks' Biggest Weakness Exposed Round 1: Their ability to collapse. That fourth quarter of Game 4 where the Blazers outscored them 35-15 is typical of past failures for this organization.

Lakers' Biggest Strength From Round 1: It's still their size. No one can match their front court tandem of Gasol and Bynum.

Mavericks' Biggest Strength From Round 1: New-found toughness. Despite that epic letdown in Game 4, they bounced back to win the final two games of the series behind physical play led by Tyson Chandler.

 

STARTERS

LAKERS                                 MAVERICKS

Derek Fisher                            Jason Kidd
Kobe Bryant                             DeShawn Stevenson
Ron Artest                               Shawn Marion
Pau Gasol                               Dirk Nowitzki
Andrew Bynum                        Tyson Chandler

Advantage: Lakers - After playing against Chris Paul, Derek Fisher is going to be happy to see Jason Kidd. He's the perfect matchup for Fisher. The Lakers will have their hands full with Dirk but they have an edge in every other matchup.

BENCH

LAKERS CONTRIBUTORS   MAVERICKS CONTRIBUTORS

Lamar Odom                          Jason Terry
Shannon Brown                      Peja Stojakovic
Steve Blake                           Brendan Haywood
Matt Barnes                           J.J. Barea

Advantage: Mavericks - The Mavs' bench averaged 37.3 points vs. the Blazers and the Lakers' bench averaged 25.5 points vs. the Hornets. Aside from Odom, the Lakers got next to nothing from their bench whereas the Mavs' bench is more than just Jason Terry (who plays starter minutes). Stojakovic is deadly from the outside (shot 42-percent vs. Blazers), Haywood will give them much-needed minutes against Bynum and Barea gives them a nice change of pace from Kidd.

Underrated Superstar: Dirk Nowitzki is phenomenal. There has never been anyone like him in the NBA. He's 7-feet tall, can hit from anywhere on the court and isn't afraid to draw contact. He has been overlooked because the Mavs haven't won a title but it's definitely not his fault. If only the Mavs had kept Steve Nash. That tandem could've gone down as one of the greatest of all time.

Matchup to Watch: Nowitzki vs. Odom/Gasol- These two Lakers will be in charge of slowing down Dirk. Odom has the length to guard him but isn't quite strong enough whereas Gasol has the strength and size but isn't quite quick enough. These two have the tough task of making his shots difficult while keeping him off the line. Nowitzki averaged over 10 free throw attempts per game in the Portland series.

Unexpected Hero for Mavs: Brendan Haywood - He won't make much of an impact on the offensive end but if he can contain Bynum and protect the glass he could be a huge factor for the Mavs.

Unexpected Hero for Lakers: Ron Artest - He was the Lakers' most consistent performer in the first round but his contributions were largely overlooked. If he puts up similar numbers against the Mavericks and frustrates Marion, expect to see this a few times:

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The Mavs seemed to have shed their 'soft' label after grinding out their first-round series win with the Blazers. But now they have to deal with a much bigger Lakers team that they had trouble with in the regular season. The Lakers remain a mystery and no one knows which team will come to play in Game 1. Will it be the one that assumes it will win a championship and comes out with no energy or the one that is ready to play defense and crash the glass?

Gasol and Odom will be charged with guarding Dirk but they will receive help. Can the rest of the Mavs make them pay by knocking down the open shots? Nowitzki will have a great series but it's up to the other players to elevate their game to play at a higher level than the Lakers. Ultimately though, L.A. is still too big for the Mavs. Chandler can't stop Gasol or Bynum and if he gets in early foul trouble the Lakers will have a field day in the paint.

Prediction: Lakers in 6.