One would assume that a pair of longish defenders in Hedo
Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis would tailor-made to, if not shut Dirk Nowitzki
down,Nike Shox Turbo, at least force him into working for his 25.
After all, Dirk often has
trouble with small forward types who can keep up with Nowitzki's up-fakes and
jab steps. And though Turkoglu and Lewis aren't known as supreme defenders,
they have been known to bring the effort while working as members of the Magic.
But we won't deal in revisionist
history here. Dirk is shooting well over 55 percent and scoring almost 29 a
contest in his last seven against the Magic, and that's with Rashard and Hedo
trading off. Pretty good stats for playing against a Magic team that is among
the league's best defensively, and one that has been known to slow the pace
when needed.
After faltering a bit in December, Nowitzki averaged about
26 (yay) and seven rebounds (not so much; though that number was enough to make
an All-Star out of David West) in January, and his Mavs are coming off a solid
road win in Miami
on Saturday.
The Magic are back home after a sound road win over Toronto
on Sunday afternoon, not the most typical of back-to-backs, though they still
seem to have the edge in just about every pairing. This one should be up to
Dirk.
Keep an eye on the Hornets/Trail Blazers matchup,
as well. I get a little spring in my step every time these guys get together,
but the injury-plagued results always tend to be one-sided. New Orleans isn't exactly its healthiest at
the moment,Lebron VIIII 9, but Byron Scott's team is playing at home.
Orlando Magic: 36-10
92.6 possessions per game (10th), 110.5 points scored per 100
possessions (5th), 101.3 points allowed per 100 possessions (2nd).
Dallas Mavericks:
27-19 91.7 possessions per game (13th), 108.9 points scored per 100
possessions (11th), 107.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (15th).
