darrell,

With 58 points in the first quarter, the OVER was looking great last night. But, anemic scoring in the 2nd and 3rd quarters killed that one. One game tonight - two picks.

WUNDERDOG 2006 RESULTS (UNITS)
SPORT	WINS-LOSSES	%	UNITS
NHL	49-18 last 67 picks	73%	+19.4
NBA	16-6 last 22 picks	73%	+10
MLB	50-33 last 83 picks	60%	+8.9
CBB	174-128 last season		+46
NFL	87-62 last season		+25
CFB	66-61 last season		+5
TOTAL			+114.3

My NBA Power Rankings are updated weekly and can be found here.

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Good luck , darrell!

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks

Yes, Tim Duncan was fouled on the last play of the game. There is no doubt about it and the officials in their right mind and under oath would agree as well. However, does this mean that the Mavericks some how underhandedly snuck one over us or are not deserving of their place in the Western Conference Championship? Absolutely not.

The Mavericks decided to take ownership of this series from the get-go. This is not the same team as last year and the main reason for that is Avery Johnson. He has proven to be a unique leader who has instilled a sense of toughness (a bit of cockiness) and swagger to this team. They now truly beleive they can do what they set out to accomplish - win a World Championship.

In addition to Johnson, there were several key reasons that Dallas unseated the Spurs. First, Dirk Nowitzki stepped up. For the first time, he has established himself as the true leader of this team. With his performance in Game 7 and that key layup near the end, Nowitzki signified that he is the man who will carry this team. Nowitzki got lots of help from his supporting cast, something that LeBron can't say and a reason he is at home. Jason Terry came through huge during the Spurs series despite his foolish attack on Michael Finley that nearly cost his team the series. Despite that adversity, the Mavericks found a way to pull it out against a team that has been nearly unbeatable in recent years, especially at home. Other key players also stepped up and played important roles including Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse who literally took his team on the back in the overtime session. This is a team - not a one man show.

The Mavericks deserved to win the series against the Spurs. They jumped out 3-1, probably would have won game six if Terry played and built a 20-point lead on the road in San Antonio in game seven. They blew the lead but the Mavericks did not fold - a sign of a champion. Yes, Duncan was clearly fouled. But, the point is that play did not matter. Dallas was the better team and they deserve to be playing tonight.

Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks.

Game: Phoenix at Dallas (8:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 stars on Dallas -6
Pick: 1 star on OVER 220.5

Does anyone really think that Phoenix has a shot in this series? I usually don't predict series results but I can't help myself here. Dallas upended the defending champions, doing it on their court in a game 7. They deserved that series as they were up 3-1 after four games. The best team won. And now the best team is going to take care of the Phoenix Suns and the league MVP to advance to the Finals. Dallas is on a mission. Phoenix struggled against the Clippers. LA is good but they are no Dallas Mavericks. Nash isn't playing MVP ball and they are going to have no answer whatsoever for Dirk Nowitzki - zero. If he can go off like he did against a great defensive team like San Antonio, imagine what he can do to a team with no defense like Phoenix. He scored 37 in the last game against the Spurs and he could have that by halftime here. Dallas is now 32-18 ATS vs. winning teams this season and 20-6 ATS vs. top-level teams that outscore their opponents by 3+ PPG. Meanwhile, with D'Antoni at the helm, Phoenix is just 4-13 ATS vs. top level teams (70%+) in late season play. Good road dogs (60%-75% SU) of 3.5 to 9.5 points off a home win by 10 points or more are just 29-55 (34%) ATS when playing a team with a winning record over the past five seasons. Defense wins championships and Phoenix has none. Dallas to cover the spread here. Phoenix is averaging 110 PPG in the playoffs but they are giving up 107 per game. Dallas is playing much better defense but still scoring 102 per game (106 per game their last five). Phoenix knows that to win they just have to outscore their competiton. They don't even try to play defense anymore. This game should also sail over the high total.