So it comes down to the home finale against the New Orleans Hornets tonight for your Dallas Mavericks.

Beat Chris Paul and Co. and the Mavs will most likely face the Hornets as the seventh seed against the two-seed, which New Orleans claimed last night with a victory against the Clippers.

Lose tonight and the Mavs could fall to eighth and face the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

As a Mavs fan, I think the Mavs should pull out all the stops tonight to win and assure themselves a matchup with the Hornets.

The Mavs have come close but have failed to beat the Lakers three times since J-Kidd came to Big D. Confidence is everything in the playoffs.

The Hornets, although talented and equipped with maybe the best point guard in the league, lack playoff experience.

The Mavs have beaten Phoenix since the Big Trade and feel they can beat the Spurs in a second round matchup. One of those two teams is who the Mavs would face should they advance to the second round if they should beat New Orleans. A victory in that series would give them the confidence boost they need to actually challenge Kobe and the Lakers in a possible Western Conference Finals matchup.

So who would you rather the Mavs face: the Hornets or the Lakers?