With playoff fever upon us, first round battles like the Suns-Lakers series or the Cavs-Wizards showdown are probably the most telegenic, but the Mavericks-Grizzlies match-up figures to provide the most interesting basketball.

First of all, consider the parameters, Dallas won 60 games this season; Memphis won 49. While it may seem unheard of for a 60-win team to lose in the first round, it has happened. In 1973, the 60-22 Milwaukee Bucks fell to the 47-35 Golden State Warriors in the first round. In 1994, the 63-19 Seattle Supersonics were upended by the 42-40 Denver Nuggets. These Grizzlies are stronger than either of those giant killers, and they match up well against the Mavericks. On Friday, John Hollinger called this series a second round matchup in disguise, and I’d second that; this is a series between two of the NBA’s top five teams.

Game 1 on Sunday night did nothing to dispel the notion that this will be a long and entertaining series. The Mavericks won 103-93 by flexing an extraordinary inside dominance in the first half, but it was a hard-fought game that had players diving for loose balls even in the waning minutes, well after the outcome had been decided.

This series should be characterized as a classic “great offense versus great defense” series, but conventional statistics and a fair amount of campaigning by the Dallas front office have obscured the situation.

As has often been repeated, these are not your older brother’s Mavericks. The run-and-gun offense of the Steve Nash-Michael Finley era is gone, and in its place is a slow-paced team that relies as much on its defense as its O. That offense, however, is still potent. The Mavericks finished second in Offensive Efficiency this season, scoring 113.2 points per 100 possessions. But now they are a halfcourt team that thrives on isolating forward Dirk Nowitzki and guard Jason Terry against weaker defenders. Whereas the 2002 run-and-gun Mavericks finished fourth in Pace Factor, averaging 92.8 possessions per game, these Mavericks finished 25th in the league at 87.6.

The slower pace has made it seem that these Mavericks have become a great defensive team – and their press office goes to great lengths to remind people about their defensive attributes – but they are only a significantly improved unit. Those 2002 Mavs finished 24th in the league in Defensive Efficiency at 107.5 points per 100 possessions; this year’s model finished 11th at 106.2. But Dallas’s change of tempo emphasizes the change in conventional statistics. The 2002 Mavs allowed 101 points per game, 28th in the league while this season they yielded only 93.1, seventh best.

On the surface, the new Dallas offense would seem vulnerable to the stout Memphis defense. The Grizzlies finished second in the league in Defensive Efficiency this season, allowing just 103.3 points per 100 possessions. Furthermore, Memphis doesn’t play the the traditional close-off-the-middle style of defense. Instead, the Grizzlies’ perimeter players, like guards Eddie Jones and Bobby Jackson and forward Shane Battier, key the defense with ball denial, swift double teams, and clogged passing lanes. This is just the sort of defense that could disrupt Dallas’s offense.

And it still may, but not in Game 1. The win was keyed by Nowitzki, who went for 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting despite a variety of Memphis defenses. When Dirk went to the low blocks, he was met by center Jake Tsakalidis. When on the perimeter he was harassed by Battier. All to no avail. The German-born star used his quickness near the basket and his seven-foot frame away from it to great advantage. When the Grizzlies double-teamed, he found the open man and the Mavs smartly rotated the ball, often creating opportunities for Terry, who scored 20 on 7-of-15 shooting.

The Grizzlies are known for their deep bench – two years ago when they first became a playoff team, they used a 10-man rotation – but the Mavs had the superior reserves on Sunday night with stellar performances from Erick Dampier and Marquis Daniels offsetting a 3-for-11 night by sixth man Jerry Stack house. Dampier played 33 minutes, and he and Nowitzki were especially active on the boards with 11 and 13 rebounds, respectively (the old complaint about Nowitzki being soft is now completely invalid). Their efforts not only limited the Griz to one offensive rebound in the first half, but left Memphis star forward Pau Gasol off balance. Gasol scored 21 of his 24 points after halftime.

Yet for all of these Dallas assets, this was a close game until Jones went to the bench with his fourth foul late in the third quarter and Dallas went on a 17-4 run to blow it open. The Grizzlies exploited Dallas’s slow defensive rotations to create open looks on the perimeter for Jones and Jackson, and shot 61% in the first half and 53.2% for the game. They lack the offensive fire power to outscore an up-tempo team like Phoenix, but they are more than capable of staying with a slower team like the new-look Mavs.

Entering Game 2 tomorrow night, the Griz will need to make their focus every Maverick player not from Germany. Nowtizki torched them for an average of 28 points in four regular season games, but they had success when they shut down his teammates. Getting Gasol going early will be another key.

Much is made of the Grizzlies’ 0-9 playoff record, but their first eight losses game against stellar teams – the 2004 Spurs (58-24) and the 2005 Suns (62-20). Dallas is in that class, but the Griz have improved dramatically. Even in defeat they proved they can take this series deep.