So are people taking the Mavs seriously as top title contender yet?

Lets face it they are playing great, 24-5 record, beaten Miami twice, Spurs, great record against 500 above teams

Chandler inside has made a real difference inside for them.

You believe they have a great shot to be champs come end of the season? or still not sure?

No. Because we always blow it in the playoffs.

[QUOTE=Hawker]No. Because we always blow it in the playoffs.[/QUOTE]
That's why I'm not sure if they are for real yet.

[QUOTE=All Net]Lets face it they are playing great, 24-5 record, beaten Miami twice, Spurs, great record against 500 above teams

Chandler inside has made a real difference inside for them.

You believe they have a great shot to be champs come end of the season? or still not sure?[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDwBEnOOJ7Y[/url]

nope, other than dirk the whole team will choke in the playoffs.

Chandler really adds a new dimension to this team that they have not seen before. Chandler plays very well with playmaking point guards, and he is a very active defender. He compliments Dirk well, and their guys are gelling. Remember, Butler was only their for less than 30 games last year, and now he is getting accustomed to Dirk and the other teammates.

They are pretty deep. They can play fast or slow. And they have solid balance. Dirk is playing extremely well. All signs say they are contenders and not pretenders but we will see in the playoffs.

If they're up 20 in the 4th quarter of game 7 in the finals I still won't be taking them seriously until I see the champagne shower. It would be funny if they made it to the finals and beat Miami though.

It's hard to trust their offense outside of Dirk. Terry? Marion? Butler? None of those guys are reliable against a Top level D. LA would suffocate them in a playoff series.

Chandler guarding the opposing teams best front Court scorer is the biggest difference. I was surprised that he was guarding bosh. I had hoped for Dirk to be guarding him since he's not a good defender.

They for sure have a shot at the championship but it's better to wait for playoff time because we know that the playoffs are a different story.

I don't know what to believe.
On one side they had great RS and blew it in the playoffs many times. Also they blow 10-20 point leads all the time. Usually they still make it, but that could be a problem come playoff time. Also Rick Carlisle has yet to prove his coaching can make the difference (in favor of the Mavs) in the playoff.
On the other side they just won b2b in Miami and Orlando with Dirk having bad games. They have improved their defence (to the point it wins games) and Chandler seems to be a great fit. Also Roddy can add scoring if one of the scorers (Terry, Butler etc) doesn't show up.

So it's hard to say but currently I lean more toward No. Especially Carlisle is giving me headaches.

They are the Orlando Magic of the West, barring injuries of the other contenders, they are not gonna make it to the Finals.

I am. I think a Post-Gold Medal World Champion version of Tyson Chandler could be the difference. Dallas has the bigs to go against both the Lakers and the Celtics. Dirk is as good as I've seen him and they just look really good. Of course, the season is not even half over. There could be injuries (Like how the Bulls are really banged up but they keep winning) so we will see how things shake out during the 2nd half of the season.

[QUOTE=stephanieg]If they're up 20 in the 4th quarter of game 7 in the finals I still won't be taking them seriously until I see the champagne shower. It would be funny if they made it to the finals and beat Miami though.[/QUOTE]

Wouldn't it be funnier if they were up 2-0 on Miami in the finals and then lost?

[QUOTE=ashbelly]Chandler guarding the opposing teams best front Court scorer is the biggest difference. I was surprised that he was guarding bosh. I had hoped for Dirk to be guarding him since he's not a good defender.[/QUOTE]

Except Dirk is a good defender and guarded Bosh most in the 4th