Mavs and Rockets to Win Big this Weekend

The ultra-hot Mavs take on the Celtics this Saturday while Portland looks to boost its playoff hopes at Phoenix on Sunday. Al Dannity gives his picks for the best of the NBA action this weekend.

Mavs to outgun visiting Celtics
This is a clash of the provisional #3 seeds in the NBA playoffs. Dallas enters this matchup having won 9 of its last 10 games and face a Celtics team that will have played in Houston just the night before. For Boston there’s little reason to push hard down the stretch as they have the #3 seed out East all but locked up while Dallas has its eyes on catching Denver and earning home advantage should they meet the Nuggets in the post-season. Both teams have been getting a lot out of their stars lately which bodes well for the post season. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd had big games for the Mavs against the Bulls on Wednesday while Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo did likewise at home to the Knicks. Boston has performed equally well on the road as they have at home this season and this will be a tough challenge but the rested Mavs will win out.

Suns can bully Blazers
Phoenix needs to pick up some big wins down the stretch to leapfrog Utah and Oklahoma City into the #4 seed in the West. Portland will be happy just to make it to the playoffs and know a win at Phoenix on Sunday will go a long way to securing that. The streaking Blazers have won 4 straight and hold a 2-0 season series lead over the Suns but I expect Phoenix to come out on top here. Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash have hit a rich vein of form lately and with the home crowd at their backs the Suns NBA-leading offense will come good and pick up the win.

Resurgent Rockets to beat up Knicks
Forget about T-Mac looking to put one over on his old team, Houston will be too hot for anything he and the Knicks bring to town on Sunday. The Rockets are currently on the outside looking in, in ninth place in the Western Conference but they have been on a roll of late. Only a miracle will do in their quest to catch Portland but winning their most recent 4 games has made sure they haven’t lost any ground to the Blazers. At this point of the year the Knicks, who have essentially phoned it in for two seasons straight, have no reason to try on the road. Luis Scola and Kevin Martin have put up some great numbers for Houston lately and I expect more of the same this Sunday.