Game 1 provided Warrior fans what they have been waiting for over 10 years, a playoff WIN. Riding the hot shooting of Baron Davis, the Warriors used thier "small ball" strategy to take down the top seeded Mavs. Davis was a one man army torching any defender that Avery put on him on his way to 33 points 14 rebounds. With many warriors playing in their first playoff game and having the expected jitters, Davis and Stephen Jackson provided the leadership to get the win. Both Monta Ellis and Jason Richardon had substandard games and hope to rebound in game 2.

The talk after game 1 was how the Mavs lost the game and not about how the Warriors WON the game. By swarming Dirk Nowitzki every time he touched the ball, the warriors forced Dallas's role players to step up and they could not. The biggest offender was Jerry Stackhouse who was held scoreless and provided nothing for the Mavs. If not for all the generous whistles from the Ref's in favor of the Mavs, this game could have been over much earlier.

Like Dallas, the media and everyone else has mentioned, the Warriors have a free swing and all the pressure is on Dallas to win, this should continue in game 2. In game 2, I expect the warriors to come out firing. Let me be the first to predict a 40+ point 1st quarter in which we see Ellis come out of his shell and J-rich hitting a couple of 3-balls in the quarter. Another Warrior who could be in line for a big game is Baby Al Harrington. If Avery decides to start wither Diop or Dampier, Harrington will be relied upon to hit the outside shots and keep runnning the court to tire out the Mavs big men.

Following his stellar game 1, Davis will be the focus of the Mavs attention enabling the others to get more quality shots. Expect a 10+ assists game out of Davis with him setting up his teammates all game long. On defense, expect more of the same from the Warriors. Dirk will still be the main priority of thier attention and again they will challenge the role players to beat them. The Mavs player to look out for is Josh Howard. Howard does alot of the dirty work for the Mavs such as grabbin offensive rebounds, diving for loose balls and playing excellent defense. Howard has a very quick second jump which enables him to grab rebounds faster than his opponents. Howard has one of the quickest pairs of hands in the league. In game 1, on many occasions Howard stole the ball from Warrior players by reaching in and utilizing his quick hands.

The potential League MVP, Dirk Nowitzki will need to supply a big game in order to assure victory for the Mavs. Dirk has a history of rebounding from poor performances and follwing them up with his typical superstar games. The Warriors can't allow to Dirk to get to the free throw line and they must make him put the ball on the floor rather than catch and shoot. Dirk has stated how he doesn't like to drive against smaller and quicker players because of the problems they create. If the Wariors are able to hold the big German down, the WARRIORS WILL WIN.

Prediction TIME:

Dallas has lost back to back games only on one occasion this year other than their losing sreak in the beginning of the year. The last time they lost back to back games was against the Warriors and a OT loss to the Suns. The Warriors hope to do the near impossible and pull off back to back wins vs the Mavs. The Warriors will come out firing and never look back. After quarter #1, Warriors will be winning 41-26 and roll to a easy 108-92 win over the Mavs. The Warriors then head home to the GREATEST FANS in the world and Jessica Alba for games 3 and 4, up 2-0 and a chance to do the impossible.