Bring On The Heat!

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Fragism

Meh, I wasn't impressed by the Heat or the Bulls. People rave on about their defense but both teams played pretty bad offense. Lots of guys just standing around and isolations.

This is what I noticed as well.

[GhostFace]

Thoughts on the crowd? From watching the game, it did not look like the crowd was into it until mid 4th quarter. Those who were there had a different opinion though..

[xrobx]

if the mavs lose i'll be completely devastated

i might just give up on the nba and find another hobby until this heat team breaks up

we have to win and save the league

[dirno2000]

On the speed debate I wouldn't be shocked if Durant could beat Wade end to end because when he gets going he's going to cover more ground. As far as speed to do damage in the half court it has to be Wade. Put is this way, Kidd was able to almost body Durant on the perimeter without Durant blowing past him. He can't play wade that way, he'll have to give him a foot or two. In the half court the first step is all that really matters.

[MavsFanSinceDayOne]

Our biggest worry is if the refs choose to once again to make Dwayne Wade into a god, by calling a foul on any Mav that even THINKS of getting near him ... as what happened in 2006.

This craziness by the refs is something that truly worries me.

[luckyflop777]

Originally Posted by xrobx

if the mavs lose i'll be completely devastated

i might just give up on the nba and find another hobby until this heat team breaks up

we have to win and save the league

This

[Flacolaco]

I don't think anyone should be disappointed if they lose at this point. Sacrilege, I know, but let's be realistic here for a minute and consider the transcendent group of athletes they're facing and the script the NBA will write.

What would have been disappointing is if they had capitulated to the little, tiny baby thunder. No respect for them. None. They earned nothing there.

Losing to James and Wade..that's not embarrassing. At this point the mavs are playing with all KINDS of house money. Anyone who says they honestly expected Mavs in the Finals this year is lying, crazy, or the biggest homer in the world. Yes, Jason Terry, that includes you and your pointless, superfluous ink poisoning on your arm.

I'll be devastated this year emotionally in all likelihood, but I am not going to be disappointed overall. These guys have earned so much respect it's not even funny. No one expected them to be here.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I don't think anyone should be disappointed if they lose at this point. Sacrilege, I know, but let's be realistic here for a minute and consider the transcendent group of athletes they're facing and the script the NBA will write.

What would have been disappointing is if they had capitulated to the little, tiny baby thunder. No respect for them. None. They earned nothing there.

Losing to James and Wade..that's not embarrassing. At this point the mavs are playing with all KINDS of house money. Anyone who says they honestly expected Mavs in the Finals this year is lying, crazy, or the biggest homer in the world. Yes, Jason Terry, that includes you and your pointless, superfluous ink poisoning on your arm.

I'll be devastated this year probably, but I am not going to be disappointed. These guys have earned so much respect it's not even funny. No one expected them to be here.

Rangers-Yankees.

[Flacolaco]

On a completely separate note....WTF? Do they call that basketball in the East? Watching that game was like watching paint dry...holy S...

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I don't think anyone should be disappointed if they lose at this point. Sacrilege, I know, but let's be realistic here for a minute and consider the transcendent group of athletes they're facing and the script the NBA will write.

What would have been disappointing is if they had capitulated to the little, tiny baby thunder. No respect for them. None. They earned nothing there.

Losing to James and Wade..that's not embarrassing. At this point the mavs are playing with all KINDS of house money. Anyone who says they honestly expected Mavs in the Finals this year is lying, crazy, or the biggest homer in the world. Yes, Jason Terry, that includes you and your pointless, superfluous ink poisoning on your arm.

I'll be devastated this year emotionally in all likelihood, but I am not going to be disappointed overall. These guys have earned so much respect it's not even funny. No one expected them to be here.

"If you lose this game you'll take it to your grave...your f***ing grave."

~Herb Brooks

[Fragism]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I don't think anyone should be disappointed if they lose at this point. Sacrilege, I know, but let's be realistic here for a minute and consider the transcendent group of athletes they're facing and the script the NBA will write.

What would have been disappointing is if they had capitulated to the little, tiny baby thunder. No respect for them. None. They earned nothing there.

Losing to James and Wade..that's not embarrassing. At this point the mavs are playing with all KINDS of house money. Anyone who says they honestly expected Mavs in the Finals this year is lying, crazy, or the biggest homer in the world. Yes, Jason Terry, that includes you and your pointless, superfluous ink poisoning on your arm.

I'll be devastated this year emotionally in all likelihood, but I am not going to be disappointed overall. These guys have earned so much respect it's not even funny. No one expected them to be here.

I agree, if they lose to the Heat in the finals I don't think any adjustment could have changed the result outside of something ridiculous like adding Deron Williams. I am fully satisfied with what this team has done this season and I think every player has given all they can.

That being said I hope they win. :>

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

On a completely separate note....WTF? Do they call that basketball in the East? Watching that game was like watching paint dry...holy S...

Truth.

[chumdawg]

Wow. Lots of giveup in the last few posts. My goodness.

[Mavsfan4ever]

Flacolaco we need you to continue to be a pessimist it has brought us luck this post season.

[Fragism]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Wow. Lots of giveup in the last few posts. My goodness.

Don't confuse my post with giving up, I hope and honestly think the Mavs will win this series. I'm just saying if they lose I know that they've given all they can and while I'll be extremely upset I definitely won't be disappointed with what this team has done this season.

[irishock]

We need to win at least 1 of the first two games on the road. After that I`m confident we can get this thing done.

As a matter of fact, we can win BOTH games on the road. Depends whether we decide to go to Dirk against freaking Bosh or have JET fire up the same bullshit he fired up in 06.

[AngieO41]

I LOVE Heat fans!! Yay! This was a real conversation I had on facebook a few minutes ago.

Friend- "Mavs vs Heat"
"hmmmm"
"You ready girl?"

Me- "The Mavs are not the Bulls so the Heat should be worried."

............. crickets.

The biggest thing I'm not looking forward to, are all the so-called Heat fans. I've never met faker fans in my life. I'm annoyed just thinking about it.

[mavsman]

I really don't know where to put it, but I feel like Paul the Octopus. I had the Lakers-series in 4 and OKC in 5 here:

Originally Posted by mavsman

Okay, so you hear it from the guy who predicted the Mavs would sweep the Lakers: Mavs in 5. They simply have no answer for our frontcourt and our bench. Ballgame. Scoreboard. Book it! Mavs in 5. This series will be over before the one in the east. We'll be rested for the finals.

Nothing more to say. Mavs in 6. Book it. Name your children Dirk. The good guys finally win.

[dirno2000]

I want back and looked at the Heat's schedule. Between November 26th and January 9th they went 22-2 with the only two losses coming against the Mavericks.

I bring this up because we're about to start hearing about how meaningless our two regular season wins against the Heat were. I don't totally disagree either. Just because you beat a team twice before January doesn't mean you're going to beat them four times in June. What they can't say is that we haven't beaten a Heat team that was playing well because at the time they were running through every team not named Dallas.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I want back and looked at the Heat's schedule. Between November 26th and January 9th they went 22-2 with the only two losses coming against the Mavericks.

I bring this up because we're about to start hearing about how meaningless our two regular season wins against the Heat were. I don't totally disagree either. Just because you beat a team twice before January doesn't mean you're going to beat them four times in June. What they can't say is that we haven't beaten a Heat team that was playing well because at the time they were running through every team not named Dallas.

Exactly. Our second win against them ended a 12-game winning streak in which they were completely dominating their opponents. December wins aren't necessarily representative for what will happen in June, but it's not like we beat a team that was reeling in that second game either.

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

(seriously...in a super star league, with refs who affect the game so mightily, what chance do the mavericks have?) <--- would be my attitude if I wasn't still celebrating last night's big win.

LeBron has been swept in the Finals by an extremely "boring" (by most fan standards) and small market Spurs team.

The Pistons beat the Kobe/Shaq/Malone/Payton Lakers.

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I don't think anyone should be disappointed if they lose at this point. Sacrilege, I know, but let's be realistic here for a minute and consider the transcendent group of athletes they're facing and the script the NBA will write.

Honestly, the script is a LOT tastier from the Mavs perspective and I'm not just saying that because I'm a homer. Look at any other message board on the internet... Almost everyone in the country besides Heat fans are pulling for the Mavs (especially for Dirk and Kidd). Dirk is also getting a TON of love on ESPN. If you think about it strictly from a "what does the country want" and "which would make the better 30 for 30", the Mavs have the advantage hands down... so I don't buy this.

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

At this point the mavs are playing with all KINDS of house money. Anyone who says they honestly expected Mavs in the Finals this year is lying, crazy, or the biggest homer in the world. Yes, Jason Terry, that includes you and your pointless, superfluous ink poisoning on your arm.

Maybe, but I'll tell you one person that expected to be here and won't accept any less than the ring... Dirk Nowitzki. I will ABSOLUTELY be disappointed if the Mavs do not win this series but I bet I will experience less than 1% of the disappointment Dirk would feel. Do you think he'd be walking away from it saying, "oh well... At least we made the finals. That was pretty cool."

To be honest, this finals loss would be MUCH more devastating than 2006. If you remember, we weren't "suppose" to make the finals that year either... And while we're more of an underdog this year, at least we could lean on the promise of the future after 2006... Dirk was still young and we had years ahead of us to take another crack at it. That softened the blow a little and that ISNT the case anymore. This is probably Dirk's last chance at cementing his legacy.

[MavsFanSinceDayOne]

Originally Posted by MavsFanSinceDayOne

Our biggest worry is if the refs choose to once again to make Dwayne Wade into a god, by calling a foul on any Mav that even THINKS of getting near him ... as what happened in 2006.

This craziness by the refs is something that truly worries me.

So nobody here is concerned whatsoever in the point that I brought up in my previous post? (in my quote above).

[kingmalaki]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

I want back and looked at the Heat's schedule. Between November 26th and January 9th they went 22-2 with the only two losses coming against the Mavericks.

I bring this up because we're about to start hearing about how meaningless our two regular season wins against the Heat were. I don't totally disagree either. Just because you beat a team twice before January doesn't mean you're going to beat them four times in June. What they can't say is that we haven't beaten a Heat team that was playing well because at the time they were running through every team not named Dallas.

I don't think anyone can rely on those games because they didn't have Haslem or Bibby and you guys had Butler. Haslem will obviously spend some time on Dirk so that's a major change. Butler not being able to spend time defending is a major change as well. Bibby hitting shots would be a major change, but he has been shooting like garbage. But that's 2 players in their 8 man rotation that didn't play in either one of those games.

Durant isn't faster than Wade, especially not with the ball. He also doesn't have his handles or his ability to quickly change directions. This is what makes Wade dangerous getting to the basket.

I think Bosh will be one of the keys to the series. Gotta contain him.

Should be a good series.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by kingmalaki

I don't think anyone can rely on those games because they didn't have Haslem or Bibby and you guys had Butler. Haslem will obviously spend some time on Dirk so that's a major change. Butler not being able to spend time defending is a major change as well. Bibby hitting shots would be a major change, but he has been shooting like garbage. But that's 2 players in their 8 man rotation that didn't play in either one of those games.

Durant isn't faster than Wade, especially not with the ball. He also doesn't have his handles or his ability to quickly change directions. This is what makes Wade dangerous getting to the basket.

I think Bosh will be one of the keys to the series. Gotta contain him.

Should be a good series.

Dirk getting struck by lightning has better chance of being the Mavs' undoing than Mike Bibby. The guy has posted a PER of 2.7 during the playoffs (yes, you read that correctly).

[mavs777]

I think it will come down to 3 things

1. Rebounding- this really goes without saying.
2. Bosh- he can get streaky at times and if he is contained (like 15 PPG on 46 % shooting I like our chances)
3. Bench- scoring numbers are overrated, the Mavs bench will outscore Miami's bench cause it will play more minutes, look at FG %, A/TO Ratio, and three point shooting

[LonghornDub]

Lol "we didn't have Haslem and Bibby."

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Lol "we didn't have Haslem and Bibby."

Miami's supporting cast is so piss poor that any single positive contribution one of them makes is overblown.

[pkdumas]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I have no doubt Wade will get his, but he isn't any faster than Durant.

Seriously, since when are folks trying to put Wade in the class of Harden/Westbrook/Rose/Parker/Paul/etc? He ain't no waterbug. I think Kidd will body up on him nicely. Stevenson for sure.

[pkdumas]

Hey, who guarded Dirk in the '06 Finals? Didn't Haslem take the assignment a good bit? Or was it just a double-team free for all?

[Mavsfan4ever]

I feel putting Kidd on Wade in crunch time will give that young man more then he can handle.

[Thomas86]

*Waits for Skip Bayless to jump on the Heat bandwagon after he was talking sh*t about them the entire season.

[Mavsfan4ever]

Originally Posted by pkdumas

Hey, who guarded Dirk in the '06 Finals? Didn't Haslem take the assignment a good bit? Or was it just a double-team free for all?

I don't recall who they had on Dirk in 2006. The good thing this year is if they double up on Dirk we have such good outside shooters it will not hurt us as much.

[OSU_MAV]

Bring it on heat, were ready for you. I saw a stat that in these playoffs Wade is averaging 7 drawn fouls per game, something to keep in mind during the series.

[ShadowLink]

Was looking at the Heat forums and look at what one guy posted:

Originally posted by Got Ankles?:
There may already be threads on this. I wanted to write a thread with a more logical / basketball purist perspective. If by chance their is already a thread on this, Admins I ask that you please leave this thread open as I rarely take my time to fully invest in analyzing or discussing an issue and would appreciate a little respect towards my unbiased opinion.

Keys To A Miami Win:

1. Gang Rebound / Team Boxouts On The Glass Will Offset The Mavs Size. #seeokcseries
2. Force Dirk Into Foul Trouble (Bosh iso's & pick n roll switches)
3. Chase Dallas off the 3pt line, make their shooters take you off the dribble, then recover.
4. RUN A PATIENT & EFFICIENT OFFENSE WITH EVERY PLAYER MOVING.
5. Get Role Players Involved Early & Often. LBJ, Wade, & Bosh can get their shot anytime.

Keys To A Dallas Win:

1. Funnel Wade & James Into Chandler / Haywood With Help D
2. Be Physical With & Body Chris Bosh, Give Him No Room To Operate.
3. Force Wade & Bron Right (Both Feel More Comfortable Going Left)
4. Pound The Ball Down Low. Establish Size Early.
5. Have Wade Chase Terry To Induce Fatigue & Fouls

To my fellow Heat fans & bandwagoners (alot of you):
I apologize in advance to anyone who disagrees or finds my opinion to be pessimistic as I prefer not to sugarcoat situations. Miami is my team, and it hurts me to watch them make basketball hard on themselves by cheating the game offensively during key moments. They have gotten better at limited this however old habits still linger.

As much as I'd love to bask in the success of Miami's wonderful post-season, I cannot. I cannot because I am truly troubled with what I've seen so far in these playoffs. The NBA has seen the fall of the Celtics/Lakers/Spurs and the rise of the Mavericks/Heat. The old tried and true veteran ELITE teams have been eliminated leaving in their ashes two teams who seek to cement player's legacies in the field of professional basketball. This upcoming NBA Finals will see a rematch of the 06 Finals with no real roster rematch. The only remnants of the 06 finals that could be billed for this series would be Dirk & Terry vs Wade & Haslem. I will be the first to happily state that Miami has managed these playoffs admirably. They have addressed alot of the issues and hurdles that they have faced throughout the season and some of the post-season in a logical & mostly correct manner. While I can say the success of the Heat throughout these playoffs has been greater than what I initially anticipated I cannot overlook the quality, health, or inexperience of Miami's opponents.

Philadelphia was a team of athletes who through the professionalism of Doug Collins found their way into the post season by following his direction in the offensive and defensive areas. Collins is best known for turning franchises around as well as having been Michael Jordan's coach in the early years as well as Jordan's Wizards stint. Philadelphia was truely overachieving with the team they had against Miami. The fact that it was not a sweep for Miami was fascinating. For the 76ers to muster enough to beat Miami in one playoff game, it was quite phenomenal, even if they had no chance of winning the series, it showed Miami had work to do.

Boston had no solid interior defensive anchor or physical presense to stop Wade and LeBron from destroying them with points in the paint and 2nd chance attempts. Danny Ainge committed a cardinal sin when he traded away Kendrick Perkins. Any REAL championship team needs grit, rebounds, and defense. He traded away Boston's best producer of all 3 areas. Before we talk about Boston beating Miami in the season without Perkins realize that the regular season means nothing. The playoffs are where players give every ounce of energy and core championship team values and habits are a necessity for beating talented opponents. Miami chiseled away at Boston as they slowly fatigued the Celtics into submission with a one-armed Rondo. The one strength Boston had over Miami in the postseason, they traded away.

Chicago while having the best defense in the NBA's regular season (Thibodeau is a wizard) overachieved their way to the NBA's best record. Im in no way belittling their effort. They were lead to the best record by the second coming of a more athletic Allen Iverson. Yes, I said Iverson. As an Iverson fan, I see similarities in Rose's game to Iverson. They may not be carbon copies, but the way they produce/produced wins for their teams is nearly identical. I will say I believe Rose is a better player in regards to putting a little english on the basketball to get awkward angles to result in successful field-goal attempts and defensive ability. The Chicago roster was constructed to reach the post-season and compete for a title, but never to win it. They needed another ELITE allstar calibre player alongside Rose that could produce points and never got it either by trade or free agency. They gave Miami their best punch given the roster they had and in some ways they showed they were better than their initial billing. Rose and the Bulls earned alot of my respect in terms of not giving in when faced with the prospect of defeating 2 first ballot HOFers in Bron & Wade and a myriad of other successful and championship calibre players. They are young and this post-season was uncharted alien territory to them and a painful but meaningful learning experience.

Viewing these playoffs strictly from a basketball purist standpoint, I can't truly say Miami is set to win the Finals. There seems to be some overwhelming beliefs by some heat fans and sympathists alike that Miami has it in the bag. That Wade, LeBron, and Bosh are unbeatable now because of their post-season success. That Haslem and Miller are back so that means we are safe. Three of the core rotation players for Miami have played in an NBA Finals being a major factor in their team while going through the experiences of failure and success in the post-season. Haslem, Wade, and James have all been to the Finals. While there are others on the Heat roster that have been as well, only these three have faced a significant amount of time on the court dealing with the atmosphere as extremely talented players. The importance of having some of the more skilled athletic players knowing what failure or success in the finals feels like cannot be understated. This is one of Miami's greatest strengths. Core championship experience. It could be the difference in the series.


Even when Miami has its core rotation healthy, there are still serious questions to answer in regards to this team's offensive identity. It has improved, but for a team to win a title, they must be successful in rebounding and defense. I believe Miami is easily capable of succeeding defensively against Dallas but It will take a firm commitment to boxing out and staying homed in on shooters. Miami is in my opinion, the best defensive team in basketball. They have unmatchable athleticism, length, and defensive habits that would make Jordan salivate at getting a crack at. But heres where it gets shifty. Dallas has been #1 in the post-season for field goal percentage at .467% (Miami is .446%). Dallas is currently second in 3pt percentage behind the eliminated Celtics at .396% (Miami is .317%). That is offensively. Defensively it gets more interesting. In terms of points allowed, Miami has Dallas beaten at 88.9 compared to Dallas being 92.5 (Boston was 93.3). But upon closer inspection, you will see the opponent 3pt percentage allowed. Miami's is .391% while Dallas is a grueling .258%. Dallas is one of the best at defending the 3 while Miami is one of the worst at shooting and defending the 3. With Dallas being the second best 3pt shooting team in terms of percentage in this post-season, Miami faces a formidable challenge given their lackluster defense against the 3. Dallas is also #1 in team assists at 21.1 (Boston was 21.0)

Another issue is the length of the Maverick's shooters. Two of the Mavs premier shooters are 6'10 minimum. With Miami being limited on mobile bigs around that height, it will be difficult to contest shots on the Mavericks proverbial trebuchets. The great Pat Riley once said "No Rebounds, No Rings." If Miami doesn't stick to the Dallas shooters like gorilla glue, there may be no chance for rebounds. Jason Terry is as good running around screens to get an open look at a 3 as any speedy sharpshooter in the NBA much like Ray Allen. It will take everyone physically boxing out and gang rebounding, otherwise, there will be no rebounds and no ring and a german will be holding the NBA Finals trophy.

I think by far the scariest aspect of this whole matter is that Dallas has posted statistics that are eerily similar to that of the Boston Celtics in almost every regard with the added incentive of a roster that is superior to Boston's. The areas that Dallas is strong at along with their personnel spells trouble for a Miami team that has failed to show enough interest in fully addressing their offensive stagnation issues.

I think Miami will face a true test in this Dallas team. I have no doubts. Dallas swept the champions and they have the DEEPEST roster in the league. This is not the 06 Mavs. This team is hungry and wasn't mentioned in the breathe of LA, MIA, BOS, or SA. They grinded and hustled their way to victories and completely trounced the Los Angeles Lakers making it look easy. I would be very cautious if I was Pat Riley as to allowing Spoelstra to fully run this dog n pony show.

I cannot wait for this Dallas - Miami series. As a Heat fan, I wanna see Miami win, but as a basketball purist, I really think Dallas could send Miami packing.

Points off turnovers.
Fastbreak points.
Points in the paint.
Second chance points.

All are areas in which Miami finds ways to score. In fact, they are the majority of Miami's offensive production. Dallas does an excellent job of limiting production in all of the above.

If you thought It was important for Miami to have offensive sets against the Bulls, wait till they face Dallas, a team with players who can match Miami's athleticism and talent. You think Jason Kidd is going to be careless with the ball as a PG to create easy transition opportunities for Miami?

Jason Kidd has been to enough rodios to know how its done. Good luck getting those against him. Kidd does not turn the ball over like a Derrick Rose will. He is calm, calculated, and collected. He is a true PG in every sense of the word and a 1st ballot HOFer. The likelihood of him coughing up the ball to Miami is minimal. Any turnovers Miami would force would most likely be off of doubling Dirk, a tactic which Dallas would fully expect.

Fastbreak points are unlikely as Dallas has some of the best fastbreak defenders in the league on the wing and frontline in Marion and Chandler. Kidd can also stop breaks with crafty strips of the ball when the opposing team's player gathers.

PIP is unlikely to be high with Dallas's surly defensive frontcourt. Dirk, Chandler & Haywood are all capable post defenders with Chandler being one of the best pick n roll (an offense style which Miami implements throughly) defenders in the league next to Dwight Howard. By trying to score on Chandler at the rim, you run the risk of relying on the ref to blow the whistle which I seriously doubt Miami will get in this series.

I forsee second chance points being hard to come by for Miami. Chandler is known as a terrific rebounder especially on the offensive end, capable of going for 20 boards any night as well as Haywood and Marion being capable of providing 10 boards respectively. God forbid they get Caron Butler back for the Finals, because that would push them over the top in terms of advantages. They'd have Marion and Butler hounding Wade and James into funneled drives towards Chandler or bad jumpshots.

As much as I dislike the Dallas Mavericks & just Dallas in general, I gotta say, when fully healthy, I think they have the best roster in the NBA. When you look at the names and what they can each provide, they dont have any weak spots. The only thing they might have a weak spot at is their lowpost offense which Haywood can provide in a limited manner.

If Miami does find a way to win the series I think it will be in 7 games. I would honestly be shocked if Dallas lost in less given their display of a team not willing to give in or be eliminated regardless of the odds they face. I believe in respecting the opponent for their talent and ability even if their personality is substandard.

So my thoughts are that if Miami implements advanced sets for the offense other than basic pick n roll schemes I think they win in 7.

If they run isoherolationball than I see Dallas winning in 5. No joke.

I think out of all the opponents Miami has faced in these playoffs, Dallas is the one team that the street-ball offense wont succeed against because they have the coaching and talent to defend against it. Please dont get it twisted, I believe Eric Spoelstra is a phenomenal coach and the right man for the job, but the truth is, he and Mike Brown have the same achilles heel, they both have limited offensive minds.

When Pat Riley came to practice with sets for Spoelstra to implement, it wasn't because he was being a cheerful guy, it was because he wanted Miami to start being prepared to have conventional offense to fall back on if they ran into stagnant possessions. I hope Riley watches the film on Dallas and places more sets at the hands of Spoelstra to utilize this team efficiently.

This team cannot be allowed to swallow itself in the finals due to the heroball tactics that Wade and LeBron fall into at times. I enjoy watching LeBron & Wade play but sometimes they allow their personalities to overrule what the best decision would be in certain situations. Even the best players of all time understood the need for plays. For Jordan, the triangle was truly a blessing because of the simplicity it instilled in the team's offense. This team doesn't have any real fallback option that I've seen. Thats what separates the great coaches from the good coaches. The ability to draw up plays for both ends. As good as LeBron is running a read n react style offense, that doesn't cut it in the playoffs when you spend 3/4 of the shotclock not attempting a pass or testing an area of a stout defense.

Miami has rode these playoffs off their talent alone. You've seen it in the struggles they've had and it could come to a ugly figurehead in these finals. Offensive execution and keeping the Dallas shooters off the 3pt line will be what makes this team into champions or breaks them into pretenders. They must chase the Dallas shooters off that 3pt line as it is the Mav's biggest offensive weapon.

Nothing would pain me more than to see players like LeBron, Miller, and Bosh not win a title this year. They are worthy of a championship, and I hope that the Miami coaching staff recognizes the importance of forcing the issue, getting their star players to run plays regardless of how much they might disagree. Staggered screens (flare) for Miller, high post isolations for Bosh against Dirk to create foul trouble for him, misdirection plays, anything but stagnant possessions.
The biggest thing I have a difficulty of understanding is why the players are so reluctant to run sets. I understand the hassle of learning sets, I understand some players don't like the concept of being forced to do a specific thing without being able to move freely, but sets are designed to create quality looks for players off switches, screened out players, confusion, etc.

By having 5 players being involved in the possession through ball & player movement it forces the defense to react and make mistakes. Let us all hope that the core Heat players understand the importance of this before they learn the hard way. This is how the big myth of Miami not having a bench was devised. It's not that Miami doesn't have a bench. It's that Miami doesn't INVOLVE the bench.

Please refrain from flaming in this thread & feel free to engage in a reasonable respectful argument about this topic.

Thank You,

"Got Ankles?"
Heat Forum Member Since 06.
Fan since the beginning of Miami as an expansion team and will be until the end regardless.

My Optimistic Finals Prediction: Pat Riley holds a team meeting providing motivation & ideas for his team. Heat win in 7.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

To be honest, this finals loss would be MUCH more devastating than 2006. If you remember, we weren't "suppose" to make the finals that year either... And while we're more of an underdog this year, at least we could lean on the promise of the future after 2006... Dirk was still young and we had years ahead of us to take another crack at it. That softened the blow a little and that ISNT the case anymore. This is probably Dirk's last chance at cementing his legacy.

I see where you're coming from with the "looking to the future" perspective, but I disagree. Maybe we weren't "supposed" to make the finals that year according to the media, but I know I damn sure picked the Mavs to go the finals that year. The only team that stood in our way was the Spurs, and I knew we had their number. I just knew it. And of course, I damn sure picked them to win the championship too.

The next year I believed it even more (understandably considering how dominant they were in the regular season.) Then Golden State happened. For me personally, the loss to Golden State was WAY more devastating than losing in the finals. As a Mavs fan, I've pretty much been shell-shocked ever since that series. I became more and more cynical and jaded with every early playoff exit. Every year Cuban and Donnie did just enough to keep the Mavs a 50-something win team but no more, while Dirk got another year older.

This year I thought was no different. There was no way the Mavs were going to get past the second round. No friggin way. Not with the mighty Lakers standing in their way. I gave the Mavs virtually no chance against the Lakers. But lo and behold, the Mavs not only beat the two-time defending champs, but swept them in 4 games.

For me, this championship run has been nothing short of miraculous. I am truly and sincerely grateful that the Mavs have made it this far. And if the Mavs end up losing in the finals, I will still be just as grateful. Sure there probably won't be any more chances after this, but that's ok. Dirk has already changed his legacy tremendously with what he's done this postseason.

In 2006 I knew the Mavs were going to beat the Miami Heat. Just knew it. So it was nothing short of devastating to watch them build a two-game lead and then lose the next four consecutive games. (I was even at game 6, and watching the Heat celebrate on the court at the AAC was one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of my life.)

This time? I have no expectations whatsoever. If the Mavs win, I can't even begin to imagine the emotional high and ecstasy I'll experience. If they lose, I can handle it, because I never in my wildest dreams imagined they'd get this far. They're huge underdogs, going up against a much younger team with two of the top five players in the game. I'll still be just as proud and grateful that I got to watch the journey.

All that being said, the Mavs are gonna f**king win!

[wiz]

Hey all,chicago FAN here,we just got our ass's kicked out to,iv noticed a few people talking about Youth being a issue in the series's that just played out,thunder vs mavs, heat vs bulls,you'd have to think dallas have the edge over Miami,bunch of savy veterans starving for a championship,but as they say Defence wins championships and how defensive are the mav's,dont think they've ever been known for there D,miami on the other hand anyone who watched todays game and most the others,they choke you with there D,something i see the mavs finding hard to deal with.

celtics were 3-0 against miami ,bulls were 3-0 against miami during the season, mavs were 2-0,i thought with the flogging we gave them in the first match we were going to walk through the heat,but cmon,cant turn a blind eye to the truth here,what happen during the season means nothing in this final series,if mavs can overcome Miami's choking D,they could very well finaly exact revenge for 06 GOODLUCK Mavs!

[j0Shi]

It's all perfect. We've won the first round despite everybody projecting Portland to win because of our past failures. We blew out the Champs. We have beaten a scary upcoming team.

And now the ultimate revenge for 2006.

It has to happen.
It will happen.

[kchan4487]

Nice to see a good post from a Miami fan, nice read @Shadowlink, the guy raises valid points.

[Murphy3]

One thing that always gives the Mavs problems is small guards. They tend to get to where they want to go against the Mavs. If the Heat had a small PG that could get to where he wanted to go AND their "big three", I'd say this series would be all but over. But, they don't and that's going to be a huge difference. The Mavs are a good defensive team when they don't have to deal with the quick and small PG type.

[xrobx]

Originally Posted by kingmalaki

I don't think anyone can rely on those games because they didn't have Haslem or Bibby and you guys had Butler. Haslem will obviously spend some time on Dirk so that's a major change. Butler not being able to spend time defending is a major change as well. Bibby hitting shots would be a major change, but he has been shooting like garbage. But that's 2 players in their 8 man rotation that didn't play in either one of those games.

that's true but don't forget, we didn't have peja stojakovic as well