Mavs Forecast: January 11
Obviously, the voids left by both Drew Gooden and Josh Howard in the lineup made for a tough time for the Mavs against the Jazz at home. Gooden is expected back immediately, but Howard is still day-to-day with a thigh contusion. Those are painful, but you can play with them if you can handle it.
Newly reacquired forward Eduardo Najera is expected to see some time this week, even if it’s only a few minutes. A Dallas fan favorite, Najera has been known as the team barber, often cutting any teammates’ hair for free.
The embarrassing home loss to the Jazz wasn’t a great showing for Dallas after a great road win the night before. Both the defensive and offensive performances lack real spark outside of Dirk Nowitzki.
We have to do a better job on the second half of back-to-backs,” JJ Barea said. “I’m not sure what we have to do, but we have to figure it out and then forget about this one and have good practices on Monday and Tuesday and come out Wednesday and see what happens.”
Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 7:30 PM CT vs. LA Lakers (29-8) KXTA
The Lakers are expected to be limping into Dallas in poor condition. Not only have they lost 2 of 3, but Kobe Bryant’s finger has been dogging his shooting of late. For the month of January, the Mamba is shooting just a shade over 40% from the field. He just doesn’t look quite right, which gives mortals a 
chance against him. Typically, a team sporting a Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum on the same roster automatically can be counted as a loss. With Kobe seemingly hurting his team more than helping, and Gasol still day-to-day with a hamstring injury, the Mavs are looking pretty good in this one. Ron Artest hasn’t been his offensive self all year, so let’s hope that the Maverick defense doesn’t awaken him. He may be asked to guard Dirk at times, which has never been a good matchup for the Deutchelander. Dirk has been hot of late, and Jason Terry and Shawn Marion’s combined offensive abilities could bode well for the defensively challeneged Lakers.
Friday, January 15, 2010, 7:30 PM CT vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-16) FSSW
Full preview to be posted Wednesday.
Sunday, January 17, 2010, 1:30 PM CT @ Toronto Raptors (19-19) FSSW
I hope that this game does not sneak up and bite Dallas. Toronto began the season horridly slow, but has bounced back under Jay Triano to win 8 of their last 9. The departure of team leader Chris Bosh has long been expected, but for now, Bosh is leading his team in nearly every offensive category. 
Andrea Bargnani has never, and will never, live up to the hype of being the 1st overall pick in the draft. That being said, he has played masterfully this season given his skill set. Despite being a legit 7 feet tall, Bargnani has never been an excellent rebounder, something that Marion and Nowitzki will be expected to take advantage of. The penetrating ability of Josh Howard and Jason Terry will be limited in this game due to Bargnani’s excellent shot blocking ability. If Bosh is checking Dirk for most of the game, Bargnani will be guarding either Gooden or Dampier in the post. Hedo Turkoglu has not quite earned his massive paycheck so far this year, but could heat up at any time. Shawn Marion is still an excellent defender, but could have problems with the quickness and shooting ability of the forward from Turkey.
Prediction (2-1)
I’m not crazy, but I’m predicting a win of the Lakers. I have good reasons though. The Lakers have been putting up really sorry defensive numbers since Pau Gasol went down with injury. Andrew Bynum is not the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar type of player that some thought that he might become. Ron Artest can’t even seem to help with the team’s defensive efforts. The Mavs get the Lakers at home on the end of a Laker back-to-back. The Lakers play San Antonio the night before, and you know that Popovich doesn’t let anyone leave town with excess energy. I’m not saying it’s a guarantee, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
I’ll be writing a full Thunder vs. Mavs preview on Wednesday, so be watching for that.
Toronto has been playing lights-out of late, but that can’t last forever. Given their excellent talent level, this was bound to happen eventually. Even still, the Raptors don’t have a very imposing home court advantage, so I don’t see it being a road game as a killer. The killer is the talent level. Don’t get me wrong, Dallas is equally as talented, but for some reason I just don’t feel very good about this one. Their record obviously doesn’t do them justice. They can beat anyone on any night. Bosh always gives the Mavs trouble and I really don’t feel good about one of the Dallas centers guarding the “Italian Nowitzki.” I say that the Mavs lose a close one.
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