It was a close game last night against Golden State for most of three quarters, when the Mavericks blew the doors open and took a 20 point lead in the 4th. Dirk and Jet both contributed 26 points for the night, and JJ Barea threw in a solid 20 (8 straight points scored in the 4th Quarter). It was a solid performance by the Mavs, which shouldn’t be surprising given the four day siesta since their last game. Fresh legs SHOULD win out over traveling fatigue every time.

So no real reason to celebrate there, except that some of us have grown a bit pessimistic and expect the worst.

Phoenix has won something like eight straight games. They’re not willing to fade into the night. Though they’re still 3 games behind Dallas for the final playoff spot, Phoenix is the hottest team in the West right now. With eleven games left to play, it’s going to be a tight finish.

Both Portland and Utah are a game ahead of Dallas. That means that if Phoenix defeats Portland tonight, Dallas has a chance to pass Portland for the #7 playoff spot. We’re hoping this happens because the #8 seeded team will have to play the Lakers in Round One, and that’s a guaranteed elimination for these Dallas Mavericks. With a 7 seed, Dallas would likely square off against San Antonio, which isn’t nearly as fearsome a prospect as it once was. Without Manu Ginobli and with an injured Tim Duncan, San Antonio will be fortunate to reach Round Two.

If Dallas manages to surpass Utah and take the 6th seed, Dallas would likely face Houston, possibly Denver, in the first round of the playoffs. Either one of those matchups would work as well. Really, every team has shown signs of weakness except Los Angeles. Dallas has a shot against just about anyone else.

Of course, you could ask: if Dallas is a guaranteed loss against Los Angeles, why do we care about the playoffs at all? They’ll lose eventually, guaranteed. And what about a lottery pick in the draft? Wouldn’t we rather Dallas just bow out before the playoffs start so they have a shot at drafting a young star?

These are two excellent points. Of course, you continue to play ball even when the odds are overwhelmingly against you. But as for the Draft question, I see no answer. Dallas could absolutely benefit from a top 3 star in the 2009 NBA Draft. But Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle show no signs of giving up the ghost. So for whatever reason, Dallas is making the push for a playoff spot.They’re already sitting in the 8th spot, but nothing is guaranteed with a hot Phoenix team so close behind.

It wasn’t so much that the Mavericks played oorly Friday night. Josh Howard left early in the game with an injury after already contributing double digit scoring. He was the slasher Dallas needed to keep from becoming an outside-only shooting team.

Suns Coach Terry Porter was hear to tell his guys, “No layups, guys. No layups.” And his team’s defense was solid for the following two and a half quarters.

Shaq surprisingly sank all 7 of his free throws in the game, and at half-time added that he took his father’s advice and returned to the natural shooting form he learned as a child, rather than the forced approach learned early in the NBA. Phoenix reached the 100 point mark before the end of the 3rd quarter, and played backups for the rest of the game.

Embarrassing to watch guys like Brandon Bass, a DPS fave, perform so poorly.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z0ECe1cKoA]