The increasingly nasty little rivalry brewing between the Mavs & Dubs took on a whole new dimension as Mark Cuban sued Don Nelson for using some sort of super-double secret confidential information against the Mavs in this year's playoffs. As the old adage says, if you can't beat 'em, sue 'em. ...

That huge farting noise you heard last night wasn't Mark Cuban sitting on a whoopee cushion, it was the sound of the air going out of the Warriors playoff fantasy balloon.

In a game that featured sloppy ballhandling, poor shooting, and bad behavior by our beloved hometown cagers, the Dallas Mavericks regained their basketball footing and reclaimed the psychological advantage in their opening-round playoff series with the Warriors.

OK, so we've gotten some flak about picking the Warriors to take down the Dallas Mavericks in six games in the opening round of the NBA's western Conference playoffs. We'll be the first to admit it's a homer pick, because, well, we do really want the Warriors to win, and we'll be the first to admit it.

But our pie in the sky has an empirical basis. Here's five reasons why the Warriors will beat the Mavs in this playoff series.

Look, we love the 90s as much as anyone. We loved the Smashing Pumpkins and the whole grunge thing and we loved Pubic Enemy and watching "BH 9'er" and "Melrose Place" back-to-back and we loved being in our twenties and partying all night in our tiny apartment in North Beach and actually being able to dream of a Democratic President. But as much as we love the idea of those days, we also realize we can't go back to them. Among other things, it's pretty much near impossible as we don't have a space ship we can slingshot around the sun with. And second of all, we're old enough to realize that, as a wise man once said, you can't go home again. Which brings us back to the Warriors who this morning fired Mike Montgomery and re-hired Don Nelson. That Don Nelson. You know, crazy, eccentric, mad-genius basketball coach known for employing smallish lineups with an emphasis on scoring and well-known inability to go anywhere in the playoffs. That Don Nelson. The Don Nelson who helmed the last hey-day of the Warriors, the RUN-TMC Warriors. The one who accidentally started the whole free-fall downfall of the franchise when he got into it with Chris Webber. And yes, the one who coached the Mavs and couldn't take them to the Finals until he retired and handed the team over to Avery Johnson. ...