Breakdown, dissection and analysis of the Heat/Mavs
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by user DRE-LO
The NBA has endured a great deal of fortune with one of the best playoffs in recent memory. Lebron James marked his territory in playoff history so deep that it could leave a basketball purist like myself salivating for his next playoff appearance. The Clippers made it clear that the curse has vanished and that they'll be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The Spurs/Mavericks 2nd round series will not be forgotten any time soon {should have been the Western Conference Finals}
If these playoffs were a storybook, the Mavs/Heat series would be the ultimate climax. For the second year in a row, the NBA has a great chance of having an unforgettable series. Detroit and San Antonio was a great NBA Finals series last year. However, ratings were subpar due to the small media markets and lack of big-name appeal. As a basketball purist, I looked straight through the sideshow and appreciated that both teams played their behind off to win an NBA championship.
This time, the sideshow may take center stage.
As annoying as he may be when he opens his mouth, Mark Cuban could be one of the top 5 best owners in all of sports right now. With some owners, one has to question if the owner's objective is to win a championship or to make a profit for the year. There's no question what Mark Cuban's objective is. Same with Avery Johnson. He didn't even crack a smile when Cuban hoisted the Western Conference trophy. Avery Johnson will now have the task of figuring out how to limit the Big Diesel. And I do mean limit.
Like most series in these playoffs, this series will be decided by the team who establishes their tempo the most. The interesting aspect of this series is that both teams can adapt to playing each other's tempos. The Mavericks showed that by speeding up the tempo in the series against the Spurs and then being able to slow the Phoenix Suns down in the conference finals. The Dallas Mavericks will want fast full-court games in this series in hopes of tiring out Shaquille O'Neal. However, Pat Riley has a knack of making sure his playoff teams are in top condition. The Miami Heat have versatile players such as Wade, Payton, Williams and Posey who can counter the speed of a Devin Harris, Jason Terry or Marquis Daniels. When Pat Riley's took the Knicks to the Finals in 1994, the Houston Rockets were clearly the more talented team on paper. It was the conditioning of the Knicks to play such an intense series and come within inches of winning a title. Of course, no one needs to be reminded of the Showtime Lakers who ran you out of the building. Thus, Pat Riley can come up with a way to counter the speed of the Mavericks. At the same time, Avery Johnson can adjust to a half-court game because he just finished the Suns by playing in that mode. The two biggest mismatches will be Shaq and Dirk Nowitzki for obvious reasons. Pat Riley's best chance is by using his best defensive player in Udonis Haslem against Dirk Nowitzki. It was Haslem's D as well as his weakside rebounding that had Rasheed Wallace frustrated in the conference finals. He may be their best option to disrupt Dirk. Of course Avery Johnson will throw the Diop/Dampier duo against Shaq. DJ Mbenga could have been used to draw fouls as well, but he's suspended for six games for interfering in a situation he had no business being involved in. {SIX GAMES!!?}
Avery will try to take Wade out of this series by using the one, the only........Adrian Griffin to play tenacious D on Wade.
All in all, this series will be one of the more intriguing series in a long time. Neither franchise has won a championship nor has even been in the Finals before, so history will be made. Will Riley's experience prevail or the genius of Avery Johnson reach it's peak?
Will Mark Cuban achieve his objective??
Date
Tue 06/06/06, 5:04 pm EST
