It will be a chippy series, chaps. Bet on that one. Maybe even as rough as Karl Malone's foresty beard.

	Karl Malone has all the answers for if the Jazz beat the Mavs, or lose to them.

It will be a good series, too. That's an even safer wager, on the eve of Old Guard vs. New Kidz.

Those are the two things we know for sure as the Jazz prepares to chaperone the Mavericks in Saturday's first-round opener. With all the recent nastiness between the teams, and the quirky home-court disadvantage that enabled the visiting team to go 4-0 in the regular-season series, Jazz-Mavericks arguably carries more upset potential than any other early matchup.

Just look. Mailman is already angry.

"I don't think there's any animosity here," Mail growled. "That's your guys' job -- to hype it up bigger than what it is. I don't listen to what people say, 'Payback This, Payback That.' That's BS."

That's not all, either.

"I'll tell you what will happen here," Malone added, still in a scolding tone. "If we win, it's because this is a veteran team. If we lose, it's because the Jazz are too old and washed up."

Malone was merely trying to chide his notebook-toting naysayers with the latter attack, but the response he wound up delivering is a better preview than any of the under-siege writers could pen. That's the whole series right there. Are the Jazz too savvy for a team that has almost zero playoff experience? Or too spent to take them out?

Around the country, it seems, the fifth-seeded Mavericks are an overwhelming favorite to score the upset. Mark Cuban might not be the world's most popular dot.communist, but his team has becoming increasingly beloved around the Association.

	Finley

	Nowitzki

They have four guys who can score -- Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki, Juwan Howard and Steve Nash -- and thus none you can regularly double-team. They won 25 road games, including both trips to the Delta Center, so it isn't a huge problem to be starting away from home. And they have shot-blockers, Shawn Bradley and Calvin Booth, to throw at Malone. Trust us: Mail likes dealing with lanky shot-swatters about as much as he's shaving these days.

"They're almost as big as Portland -- and they probably shoot the ball better," said Charlotte's Jamal Mashburn of his old team.

Added the Blazers' Dale Davis: "I think they'll be competing for a championship one day."

Which, of course, is what we used to say about the Jazz. Actually, we were saying so for much of this season, through February specifically. Over the final two months of the season, when the back-to-backs started stacking up, Utah went 14-12.

Even more astoundingly, the Jazz was 1-10 in its final 11 games against playoff-bound opposition. One and ten! That the one victory came against the Mavericks, in Dallas on April 7, didn't exactly take the temper out of Jerry Sloan's voice, either.

	“	I'll tell you what will happen here. If we win, it's because this is a veteran team. If we lose, it's because the Jazz are too old and washed up. ”
		— Malone

"Everybody loses confidence," Sloan said. "Old or young, guys lose confidence.

"We've struggled a great deal," Sloan admits. "I've got an old team."

Back, then, to the experience variable. Malone and Stockton have played in more than 300 playoff games between them. Finley and Nowitzki have played in a combined zero. Nash has one series' worth of experience as a Suns backup. Howard's only playoff taste came in a one-and-done sweepage at the hands of his future boss, Michael Jordan.

Mavs reserve Howard Eisley racked up a healthy 79 playoff appearances as Stockton's caddy, but also sports a career post-season shooting percentage of .388. Vernon Maxwell and Mark Bryant, Dallas' two thirtysomethings, aren't rotation regulars, so Don Nelson's horses are just going to have learn as they go. Little wonder, then, Nelson respectfully refers to the Jazz as "teachers."

"That's what's so wonderful about this year," said Nelson, not really including the fact that -- oh, yeah -- he conquered prostate cancer just to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

"Here we are, we're really young and the franchise hasn't even been in the playoffs for 10 years [since 1990]. We're going through all these things for the first time, but we're going through them together."

Locally, as opposed to groundswell of closet Mavs fans across the country, there remains considerable concern about the Mavericks' chance. As a mostly jump-shooting team, can they carry that perimeter potency into the post-season? If not, can they get enough in the low post from Howard to offset Malone's damage? Most importantly, can Bradley and Booth get Malone away from the rim?

	Russell

	Marshall

When the Jazz is picking-and-rolling the ball to the hoop, like the vintage Jazz, StocktontoMalone is still a force that can end the Cubans' maiden playoff voyage in one round. Especially if Utah gets a contribution from Donyell Marshall, John Starks and Bryon Russell, which Sloan sees as a must because "we aren't good enough any more to win without that." The Mavericks saw it all April 7, when the Jazz came to Dallas and administered a 116-103 whipping at Reunion Arena.

Mind you, that was right after Dallas went to the Delta on March 26 and responded to Malone's overt elbows and shoves to overturn a double-digit deficit and score a 98-90 triumph. The Mavericks actually bring a three-game Salt Lake win streak into Saturday's match, after going 0-25 in the city from Feb. 11, 1989 through late last season.

"I told them at halftime of that game that, 'You better stand up for yourselves out there, because if you don't make a statement you're going to be regarded as a soft team,' " Nelson said. "And they responded."

Said Nowitzki: "I've said it before, but when we're making shots, we know we can beat anybody."

Lest we annoy Malone any further, we won't spend too much time dwelling on the various subplots. Like Nellie vs. Mailman II. Cuban vs. Mailman. Cuban vs. Larry Miller.

Luckily, the age comparison provides plenty of data to dissect.

"We're not good enough to play one-on-one," Sloan said. "They are. They can beat you end-to-end."

That's just how it is when the kids you're playing also ain't shaving.

Marc Stein, who covers the NBA for The Dallas Morning News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.