Mavericks & Stars

Being a resident of one of Cowtown's suburbs, I am a fan of the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars. Both teams did very well in the regular season this year. The Stars finished second in the Western Division behind the Detroit Red Wings. The Mavericks also finished second in the Western Division. They were second only to the San Antonio Spurs. At the end of the regular season, the future looked very bright for both teams in the playoffs.

The Mavericks are making good on that promise. Last night, they eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies. For the first time in their history, the Mavericks swept a seven game series in the playoffs by winning four straight games. They will get nearly a week off now while they wait to see whether they will play the San Antonio Spurs or the Sacramento Kings. Currently, the Kings and Spurs are tied at 2 games apiece. The Mavericks were the only NBA team to sweep their first round games this year.

The Stars have not done as well. As the second-rated team, they played the seventh-rated team, the Colorado Avalance. Colorado easily ejected the Stars from the playoffs in only five games, making the series look like a mismatch. I don't know how the Stars could be so good in the regular season and then look so bad in the playoffs. However, they now have company. Last night, the number one-rated Detroit Red Wings were eliminated by the eighth-rated Edmonton Oilers. Looks like it's going to be a strange year for playoff hockey!