[外電] Pace about to pick up for Dallas Mavericks

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 The Mavericks have had it easy so far. Six games, 14 days? That's
practically a vacation by NBA standards.

It's about to change. Starting with Houston's visit to American Airlines
Center on Tuesday, the Mavericks play five games in seven nights and nine in
the next 16.

Four of those nine starts are against Houston or San Antonio, bitter
Southwest Division rivals.

Based on last season, the Mavericks had better pay close attention to this
stretch. Their record against divisional foes was 7-9, including what was
supposed to be the Southwest's punching bag, Memphis.

So is this the NBA's toughest division?

"It's pretty brutal," Dirk Nowitzki said. "The Texas triangle has always been
really, really tough. New Orleans was really good the last couple years. As
tough as it gets? I guess I'd have to sit down and look at all the divisions,
but I think it's about as tough as it gets in the league."

Already this season, they are 0-1 against the Southwest after the horrible
finish at New Orleans last week.

There was a time when the Mavericks ruled the division in more ways than one.

From 2004-05 to 2006-07, they were a combined 38-10 against divisional foes.
They slipped to 10-6 in 2007-08 before last season's losing mark.

The result, whether coincidental or not, is that their total win-loss record
has slipped radically over the last two seasons.

In the Western Conference, the Southwest and Northwest are the toughest
divisions by far. In the Pacific, the Lakers have three whipping posts to
visit regularly – Sacramento, Golden State and the Clippers.

In the East, it's hard to make an argument for the strength of any division,
although the Southeast has potential to develop into a nightly brawl.

Coach Rick Carlisle has a broader sense of how tough the Southwest is.

"This has been, the last two or three years, probably the most competitive
division in all of sports, and I still see it that way," Carlisle says.
"Every win you can get is huge for overall record, for tiebreakers down the
road and everything else. They're all going to be [gut-wrenching] games."

Particularly with Houston hauling in an identical 4-2 record to the Mavericks
for this game. It's still early, but without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady,
everybody in the league is impressed with the way the Rockets have started.

They also are gaining a reputation as a team that plays as hard as anyone
nightly.

"This is a different kind of test than we've had, because they play so hard,"
Carlisle said. "They have guys that are extremely tough-minded and skilled.
They're relishing this underdog situation because their two main stars are
out."

Which is why the Mavericks can't afford to take a breath, especially with the
games coming so quickly. The Spurs will be waiting for them Wednesday in San
Antonio.

Howard solid in debut: Josh Howard showed no ill effects from his first game
action of the season.

Most importantly, he looked good to his teammates.

"He looked great to me," Nowitzki said. "He moved well. When somebody comes
back from injury, you don't look at how he's shooting. You look at how he's
moving and attacking. And to me he did both of those things and looked pretty
good."

Expect Howard back in his usual spot in the lineup tonight.

"He's one of our best players and one of our best athletes and one of our
high-energy guys, so getting him back is big," Carlisle said.

Briefly: Nowitzki on the 4-2 start: "Looking at the two losses we had, those
hurt. But we definitely got some good wins. So, 4-2, I'll take that over 2-7
any day." That would be the Mavericks' record after nine games last season.
... The Mavericks will unveil the All-Star ballot today at AAC, with
Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Howard, Jason Terry and Shawn Marion casting the first
votes. Those would be the five Mavericks who are on the ballot. The game is
Feb. 14 at Cowboys Stadium.

 The Mavericks play in one of the toughest divisions, if not the toughest, in
the NBA. And how they have done overall is often reflected by their
divisional play.



Season  Southwest Division      Overall
2004-05         11-5    58-24
2005-06         13-3    60-22
2006-07         14-2    67-15
2007-08         10-6    51-31
2008-09         7-9     50-32



小牛前14天只打了6場

之後7天要打五場

再來是16天打9場

九場中有四場是對西南組的


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◆ From: 114.38.24.78
推 Chenwitzki  :硬仗
推 unbomb      :前14天的6場裡面 就有2次B2B 反正就鳥賽程
推 WJS0927     :這對小牛來說應該是OK吧,都可以連贏湖人快艇了
推 APUU        :差很多好嗎
推 yrhhimamr   :西南組大內鬥
推 DM24Tim     :然後前面一直休兩天...感覺真的很鳥
推 dmdjjj      :球賽緊湊比較緊張XD
推 ForeverOrz  :是個不錯的考驗 (?)
推 Gera1dGreen :今年板凳深度算不錯 剛好可以試試看XD
推 nashno1     :板凳深但也傷了兩個了啊