2015 NBA playoffs: Mavericks will face Rockets in first round

After back-to-back losses to the Spurs, it wasn't supposed to be the Rockets anymore. San Antonio had gone into dynasty mode. It was over.

But we forgot to factor in Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, who rolled over the Spurs on Wednesday to allow the Rockets to sneak back into the No. 2 seed and setting up a Mavericks-Rockets first round series starting this weekend.

I'm excited. This is fun. Storylines! Parsons revenge! Cuban and Morey war of words! Most important, the Mavericks can match up with the Rockets. Houston is a dangerous team and still should be favored in this series, no doubt. But more so than San Antonio or Memphis or Los Angeles, Dallas has a legitimate chance.

The season series to date is 3-1 in favor of Houston, but a couple of the game were a flip-of-the-coin in the final minutes. In one game, Dallas missed nearly 30 three-pointers. The Rockets didn't have Dwight Howard for most of them. Every game the Mavericks played was on the second night of the back-to-back. Dallas can hide Dirk and Monta on defense much easier than any other potential foe, and while James Harden will likely light up Dallas for large portions of the series,

We'll have the first round schedule later tonight and in-depth analysis starting Thursday on the site.