By Jon Machota
FOXSportsSouthwest.com Special Contributor
March 3, 2011
In the eyes of Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, the San Antonio Spurs are not the favorite in the Western Conference.
Yes, the Spurs possess the best record in the NBA, but recently Nowitzki said the conference goes through Los Angeles and the defending NBA champion Lakers.
"Under the radar is always good,'' he told The Dallas Morning News of the Mavericks' position. "I think the Lakers to me are still the heavy favorite in the West. After that, there are a bunch of teams bundled up. But I still think the Lakers are the heavy favorite in the West.''
Nowitzki's words weren't intended to take anything away from the Spurs, who had 50 wins entering Friday. He just doesn't believe the Lakers should be overlooked.
"They've won two (titles) in a row, they're long and they got the same players and they got the best player in the world,'' Nowitzki said.
His teammate, Jason Terry, agreed with the lethal scoring power forward.
"No question, the Lakers, always, because they're the champs,'' Terry told The Morning News. "But what San Antonio has done makes them a favorite, too. We're chasing all those guys and we're going to play out this underdog role. People didn't predict us to do much before the season and they're not predicting us to do much now. We'll continue to relish that role and play with a chip on our shoulder. That's the only way to fly.''
Nowitzki also stated that the Mavericks have been constructed to beat teams like the Lakers and Spurs. He believes a playoff series with either team would be a fun matchup.
"We're long as well now," Nowitzki told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We can match up with their length when we're all healthy. So, yeah, it should be a fine matchup if we see them in the playoffs.''
