For the past few years fans of the Miami Heat have felt that if their team just eased their way through the NBA season they are more than capable then stepping it up in the playoffs.  But, at 4-10, and the big man in the middle named Shaq hurt, they could just end up stumbling the entire season, with the playoffs a distance after thought.  The 5-10 Portland Trailblazers on the other hand didn’t seriously consider the playoffs this year, playing in the stacked western conference.  They do have some decent players, but their season got off to an awful start when the first pick in the NBA draft, Greg Oden, went out with a season ending injury months before the season even started.  That’s not a good omen for any team.  LaMarcus Aldridge has tried his best to pick up the slack (18.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg) but he doesn’t have enough depth at other positions to make too much of a difference.

Dwayne Wade appears to be healthy now, averaging over 21 a game, but much like Aldridge, he isn’t getting much contribution at the other positions either.  Shaquille O’Neal is averaging career lows in the major categories, and by all accounts seems to be coming to the end of the line after a long battering career. 

A pair of teams that have gotten off to fairly decent starts will square off in primetime for a meaningful western conference showdown.  The Mavericks (10-5) are actually used to have a better start, as last year they led the league with 67 wins.  This year their defense has seemed to take a step backwards.  They are currently on a streak that sees them losing three out of their last four games.  Dirk Nowitzki appears to be able to take on that challenge, as he is now leading the team in scoring at 21.7 a game.  In the western conference no win comes easy, so when playing at home, such as this game, they should try to perform as well as they can.

The Nuggets are also in a bit of a rut, losing two in a row.  While Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson make up the bulk of the scoring, Marcus Camby is having another fine year defensively.  He is averaging 14.8 rebounds a game to go along with 3.5 blocks a contest.  Marcus Camby has been ridiculed in the past for being soft, but the last few years he has been a beast on the inside.  I like the home court advantage in this one, so I’ll favor Dallas.  Dallas seems like a team that should be able to turn things around, and that could possibly show up against the Nuggets. 

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