And that probably goes something like, ‘’you’ll get your asses handed to ya’ in the first round bitches.'’

You read it people, with merely days before their first round match-up with the Hornets begins in the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, the Mavericks sent a message to New Orleans after beating the Hornets by double-digits, 111-98, last Wednesday night.

The win guaranteed the Dallas Mavericks of the 7th seed in the Western conference, letting them avoid a first round encounter with the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers, who are seeded no.1 for the first time since the 2000 playoffs. That also means they’ll face this Hornets team again to kick-off what is shaping up to be a wild second season in the wild wild West.

And if last Wednesday’s win over the New Orleans Hornets was a preview of their best-of-seven, first round playoff series, it looks like the Dallas Mavericks just might have an easier task this time compared to the one they had last year against then no.8 seed, Golden State Warriors.

‘’This was definitely a win we wanted to get,'’ Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said. ‘’The Lakers are probably the hottest team in the West. We definitely didn’t want to face them in the first round. [New Orleans] had a great year, but I think we match up pretty well.'’

Of course Dirk will say that. They did won by double digits right?

New Orleans came in locked into the no.2 seed in the Western Conference. To avoid the Mavericks, New Orleans had to win and have the Denver Nuggets win later that Wednesday night.

Well, the Nuggets did their part, winning 120-111 over the Memphis Grizzlies behind the 21 points Allen Iverson had. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Jason Kidd had his best game of the regular season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks against them last Wednesday.

J-Kidd dropped a rather NASTY triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. And in case you were wondering, yes, Chris Paul will definitely be tested once the first round of this series between the Hornets and the Mavericks begins.

Who will win the NBA title in the 2007-08 NBA basketball season? AcesAce Sportsbook has the odds.

San Antonio Spurs EVEN +350

Cleveland Cavaliers EVEN +1,300

Boston Celtics EVEN +450

Detroit Pistons EVEN +1,000

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more basketball betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

Dallas Mavericks New Orleans Hornets