The Suns and Mavs, the Mavs and Suns. The regular season is just a prequel to the playoffs but that still doesn't stop debate. While Dallas and Phoenix continue to roll off wins and winning streaks, the debate over which team is better is being discussed heavily. There is a lot of back and forth and in all reality, until a series is played, it is very subjective. I thought I would take a crack at it after both discussing and hearing both sides of the equation on slamonline.com.

Now, the perception among both teams is that the Suns are the high octane team that leads the league in all scoring categories. The Mavs can score but there is also the feel among the general public that they also play great defense now under Avery Johnson. The Suns can score and the Mavs are better defensively but that also doesn't mean that Phoenix isn't playing any defense either. John Hollinger always discusses pace factor when discussing offense and also the effect that has on the defense in turn.

Avery has slowed the Mavs down offensively and created a team predicated on isolations more than anything else. These isolations center around Dirk but Jason Terry and Josh Howard do very well in this set. The Mavs are long and athletic and disruptive on defense. This centers around Josh Howard, Devin Harris and Erik Dampier. They are all great weak-side defenders but I don't really see anyone on the team that is a stopper ala a Trenton Hassell. The Mavs also have a solid bench when Jerry Stackhouse is healthy. If he is injured, which he is often, the likes of Devean "kick out" George likely don't strike fear in anyone's heart.

The Suns are run and gun all the way but this also does not mean they can't play in the half court. With Amare back, along with Boris and Steve, the team is more than capable of creating in a playoff type atmosphere. Most people view Raja Bell as the true defensive player on the Suns but he has actually been struggling this year. Shawn has been great as a weak-side defender as always and has played very well as an on the ball defender considering he is matched up against any player at almost any time. Kurt remains one of the best low post defenders in the league and Amare has become a great weak-side defender. That's right, Amare. The bench isn't extremely deep but goes eight deep with the 6th man of the year thus far Barbosa and a greatly improving James Jones.

The way I see it, the Mavs are the same strong team they were last year that is built in more of a traditional playoff style. They play the half court game on offense and try to make things as difficult as possible on offense. The Suns still play uptempo but with several key additions back, can easily slide into a half court system. The defense is right there with Dallas and the real key to victory in a seven game series relies on Amare's knees. I believe Nash will be healthy but if Amare can even play at the same level he is at now, will be a force getting rebounds, blocking shots and getting to the free throw line. People can't credit him being back enough. Without him, the Mavs are the clear cut champs but otherwise, I like the Suns and feel they turn the corner this year. Time will tell...