Game 7: Indiana Pacers (2-4) vs. Dallas Mavericks (4-2) | 8:45pm CST

[ThisIStheYear]

This is a good team, I promise. I'm not falling for the game-by-game mood swings this year. They're a little less athletic than last season, and Luka has been baaaaaaaad so far, but he'll get better, and they're so much more skilled in a variety of way than last season.

I think the next one might be a loss, too, and boy, I'm not looking forward to that, but by the end of the season, we'll all be believers.

In theory they should be a good team but it doesn’t matter how much I believe in them by the end of the season, my bigger belief is that the playoffs will revert to form and favor home teams. We’re not going to see a somewhat fluky road warrior playoff run again. The Mavs need to set themselves up for success by getting at least the #2 seed. That means these early season games actually count.  They count in the MVP race also. That award will go to a player in the mix for best conference record.  Need to get on a run.