Mavericks (-4) vs. Nuggets? C'mon

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Tonight, good readers, marks the most anticipated matchup of basketball titans all year. They've been battling for months, and it all comes down to this. The spoils of winning are great; the consequences of defeat are even greater.

Oh, and while you're watching, don't forget to check your Blackberry for Sweet 16 score updates.
I am, of course, talking about the Nuggets-Mavericks game. AJ vs. B-dubs. Denver vs. Dallas. The Mile High City vs. Big D. Team who makes good trades vs. team that makes franchise-destroying trades and steadfastly defends them years after the fact.

March madness, indeed.

The Nuggets (46-26) are 3-0 against the Mavs this year, and hope to get two wins on this three-game road swing against Western Conference playoff contenders, in hopes of securing another Northwest Division crown and a top-four seed. The Mavs (43-28) are toiling in the eight-spot right now and just trying to fight off Phoenix for that final playoff position, with the great reward of getting swept by the Lakers.

Nene has been questionably suspended for tonight's game by the NBA for (apparently, despite the lack of public video evidence) head-butting Phoenix Suns whiner/forward Louis Amundson. (Not that Nene's absence helped the Hornets on Wednesday, but whatever.) Meanwhile, Josh Howard, Dallas' third-leading scorer, is still doubtful with an ankle injury, and Jason Kidd is questionable with old age.

So here's what I don't get. The Mavericks do have home court tonight, and obviously that helps. But they're favored by four points tonight. While the effect of home court, and how much the line should be pushed in terms of points, are issues you could argue all day, it's generally concluded that the NBA road team should be given two, maybe three, points on the spread. If that holds true tonight, I guess odds-makers think that Dallas sans Howard is better than Denver sans Nene. I didn't know they were legalizing pot in Vegas.

Let's say Howard does play, and hypothetically suppose Nene could play as well. How much is a player like Nene really worth in betting points? Two points? Maybe three? Let's be fairly generous and say four points, which would make this game a pick 'em. Again, Denver has beaten Dallas all three times this season, and historically has played the Mavericks very well. Would you really, really take Dallas to win the game tonight if Nene was in? Forget records; Denver is clearly a better team. I guess the odds-makers have put a ton of weight into Dallas' 9-0 record at the American Airlines Center since the All-Star break. But hey, never mind that other than San Antonio, the best opponent in that stretch was mighty Detroit (34-37), right? Why put too much emphasis on valuable details like that?

AJ and B-dubs will be good friends on this blog, but when it comes to important matters such as Nugs-Mavs, Broncos-Cowboys, Badgers-Sooners or Alba-Biel, war may ensue. The initial battle...commences this evening.

-AJ

My Super Sweet Sixteen (Not the awful MTV show)

Well AJ and myself have joined forces to bring the world the greatest blog it has ever seen. This is not actually the greatest blog ever, it didn't look anything like this... this is just a tribute...

Ok, I'm not Jack Black and AJ is not Kyle Gass, and now its time for my sweet sixteen preview. I'll go from the Jason "Get me a wheelchair" Kidd region (weakest) to the Devin "I can make half court shots blindfolded to win games" Harris region (strongest).

Midwest AKA: Jason "Get me a wheelchair" Kidd region

1. Louisville vs. 12. Arizona

Could Arizona have gotten an easier road to this dance? An athletically over-matched Utah team that was the worst mis-seeding in the tournament... and then Cleveland State, the Cinderella with no glass slipper. The Wildcats get devoured by the Cardinals here by 12 points.

2. Michigan State vs. Kansas

AJ probably has a better point of view on MSU, and I haven't seen much of them this year, but I did see them beat Kansas early in the year fairly handily. This is a different Kansas team. They are very young but have played some PRIME TIME GAMES BABY!! I don't see MSU with an answer for Cole Aldrich who posted a triple-double in round two with 10 blocks!! Kansas by 4.

East AKA: Terrell "I moved from America's team to North America's team" Owens region

1. Pittsburgh vs. Xavier

I don't have much to say here, other than I think Pitt wakes up after a slow start to this tournament. They come alive in a big way here and overmatch an athletic Xavier team by around 10 points.

2. Duke vs. Villanova

Maybe the most intriguing sweet 16 match. I think Duke has overachieved all season (and has been overrated). Nova has hit their stride at the right time. I hate Greg Paulus and I hope they lose... and I think they will. I think Nova is too athletic and will be able to get points in the paint all night long like they did against UCLA. If Duke gets hot from three-point land then they could steal this game away. However Nova's guards will play the perimeter tight and I like them to win in a close one. Nova by 3.

West AKA: Gus "Sorentine... from the parking lot!!!" Johnson region

1. UCONN vs. Purdue

Adversity does not affect UCONN. We saw that in round one. We will see it again. Purdue is an inferior team by lightyears. UCONN knocks out Purdue and AJ's beloved Big 10 is out of the tournament. Now, a moment of silence for the Big 10...

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Ok. UCONN by 13.

2. Memphis vs. 3. Mizzouri

Mizzou's pressure defense works against a lot of teams. They can force a lot of turnovers, but the athletes of Memphis are just too strong. I think this will be a good game for a half. Then Memphis pulls away. Memphis by 9.

South AKA: Devin "I can make half court shots blindfolded to win games" Harris region

1. UNC vs. Gonzaga

I think this game will be closer than a lot of people think. Vegas says UNC -7. I think this game will be within 5. However, Ty Lawson is the X factor. If he can stay healthy and effective in this game.... UNC will pull it out. UNC by 4.

2. Oklahoma vs. Syracuse

I will try to be unbiased. I HATE Devendorf. HATE. However, when he is hot... he is better than Jimmy Chitwood. Well, maybe not THAT good, but he is a fantastic guard. The athleticism of Syracuse scares me. Willie Warren is the only OU guard who matches up well against Syracuse. I just don't know who is going to stop the player of the year. Blake Griffin will get his video game-esque numbers... but who else will step up? My answer is the combination of Taylor Griffin and Austin Johnson. Austin will hit at least 3 timely treys and Taylor will have close to a double-double. OU squeezes this one out. OU by 2.

Well thats all I got folks. Hopefully I will keep up with this steroids-free blog and wont pull a post OC Mischa Barton and disappear off the face of the Earth. Damn she was hott... I miss her.

Stay classy,

B-Dubs

Ranking the Sweet Sixteen teams still standing

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B-dubs, B-dubs, please ... leave the nicknaming to the professionals. Although you're right, Kidd does need to get one of those Rascals, and that Mark Cuban continues to insist the Kidd-for-Harris deal did not set his franchise back 10 years (minimum) is one this country's greatest cases of denial today.

But anyway...B-dubs has offered up who he thinks will win each Sweet 16 game and ranked the regions from best (Harris, the Badger) to worst (Kidd, the wife-beater), so I'll take a slightly different approach. Here's a Power 16, ranking the teams based on how they're playing right now. Consider my personal pick for each game based on these rankings (i.e. since Purdue is 4 and UCheat is 5, yes, that means I think the Boilers will beat the UConMen. Er, Huskies.).

Here we go, from Kidd to Harris:

16) Arizona. Totally agree with B-Dubs: they've done nothing of substance in this tournament except send a thank-you note to Wake Forest for rolling over for Cleveland State. The Wildcats are talented individually, but are still the same team that finished 1-5.

15) Xavier. The worst 4-seed entering last weekend, and the Musketeers were shaky in both victories before pulling away.

14) Kansas. Cole Aldrich? You're coming at me with Cole Aldrich? Make no mistake, Brandon Rush ain't walking through that door. Neither is Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson or the great Sasha Kaun.

13) Gonzaga. Juuuuust made it past Western Kentucky, and I don't buy any theories about how the Adam Morrisons can get by North Carolina. Should be an easy third-rounder for the Heels.

12) Villanova. Couldn't the Wildcats have humored us and not destroyed American U. after taunting us with a potential upset of gargantuan proportions? Party poopers.

11) Michigan State. I believe you never really know a team until you sit behind its bench for an entire game, which I did at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. And weirdly, I found a weird vibe among the Spartan players, like they don't love each other the way they should. I still think they'll get by Rock Chalk, but they stand little chance against Louisville.

10) Missouri. Ladies and gentlemen (and Memphis), meet Forty Minutes of Hell. Tigers-Tigers will be the best game of the Sweet 16...and you gotta love any matchup where the two teams share a nickname.

9) Duke. Not sure what to make of Da Dukies...I mean, how do they constantly win with so little athleticism? But Coach K knows best, I suppose. If Henderson, Singler and Scheyer stay hot, Duke can win it all...but Nova could be dangerous too, and Duke is no stranger to early exits.

8) Pittsburgh. DeJuan Blair, thou art behemoth.

7) Oklahoma. Blake Griffin, you too. And not too shabby with the ladies, either.

6) Syracuse. America's Team, as far as I'm concerned. I get that people don't like Eric Devendorf, but the very cool friendship between Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris cancels out the likeability factor. And you've gotta pull for a team that wins in six OTs, any day.

5) Connecticut. OK, you got me, they're obviously playing better than this. But like I outlined above, I think Purdue will win the game, so I have to put the Huskies below the Boilers. I will say this, though: the Nate Miles thing will not be a distraction. Methinks these old, old allegations have nothing to do with Hasheem Thabeet dunking or blocking a basketball.

4) Purdue. Here's why I think Purdue will win: they haven't been healthy all year. They're peaking at the PERFECT time. It's far and away the deepest team in the Big Ten, and among the deepest in the country. And most of all, per my Michigan State theory, they LO-O-O-O-OVE each other to death. I like the Boilers to crash the Elite Eight.

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3) Memphis. But Purdue will meet its match there. Memphis is playing with a massive chip on its shoulder. Hey Coach Cal, just make sure they hit their free throws when it counts, eh?

2) Louisville. I don't think the Cardinals have played like the second-best team in the field, but they will look like it after yawning past the patsies awaiting them in Indianapolis.

1) North Carolina. Take some Aleve for that toe, Ty. I love the Heels, but they're a different team without their point guard at full strength.

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To save you from tallying it up based on the rankings, I've got Louisville and Michigan State, North Carolina and Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Duke, and Purdue and Memphis advancing to the Elite Eight. Enjoy the games tonight and Friday.

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-AJ