Round 1: DAL-SAN

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Game	Date	Matchup/Result	Breakdown
1	Saturday, April 18, 8pm et	Mavericks 105 @ Spurs 97	Recap \| Box
2	Monday, April 20, 9:30pm et	Mavericks 84 @ Spurs 105	Recap \| Box
3	Thursday, April 23, 8:30pm et	Spurs 67 @ Mavericks 88	Recap \| Box
4	Saturday, April 25, 4pm et	Spurs 90 @ Mavericks 99	Recap \| Box
5	Tuesday, April 28, 9:30pm et	Mavericks 106 @ Spurs 93	Recap \| Box
Mavericks win series 4-1

Dallas Mavericks

Team Page | Roster | Stats

Regular Season Record: 50-32
Head-to-Head Record: 2-2
Last NBA Championship: -
Last NBA Finals Appearance: 2006
Last Postseason Appearance: 2008
A reason to cheer for the Mavericks: Since losing to the Heat in the NBA Finals in 2006, the Mavs have gone out in the first round two years in a row. Last year, it resulted in the firing of head coach Avery Johnson. Owner Mark Cuban is certainly hoping Dirk Nowitzki and Co. come out with more fire in their bellies this post-season, and it should be interesting to see if they come up short again or pull out the toughness required to make it deeper.

Players to Watch: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Jason Kidd

San Antonio Spurs

Team Page | Roster | Stats

Regular Season Record: 54-28
Head-to-Head Record: 2-2
Last NBA Championship: 2007
Last NBA Finals Appearance: 2007
Last Postseason Appearance: 2008

A reason to cheer for the Spurs: The Spurs' franchise is a picture of consistency, having won six division titles, four conference titles and four championships between 1999 and 2007. Can Tim Duncan and Co. add another trophy to the mantle? Duncan and Gregg Popovich each have four championship rings, while three others Spurs players have three each. If experience and consistency are the name of the game, the Spurs are the cream of the crop. The flip side of that is that players are getting older. While the Spurs' slow, steady style of play is tailor-made for playoff basketball, they have been bothered this year by health issues and inconsistency.

Players to Watch: Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Roger Mason