NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat

I know a lot of people hate the Heat so much that they are actually willing to root for the freakin Mavs of all teams...but those folks are setting themselves up for disappointment. Anyone that thinks the Heat aren't the better team is seriously fooling themselves. I'm going to love watching Cuban and Dirk with another finals apperance with no ring...they'll be the Buffalo Bills of the NBA.

 

And Chris Webber will still have none.

 

another huge point. peja stojackovic played a decent role in the playoff run for the mavs with his 3pt shot.

let's say he won't see the court much vs the heat or else he will be forced to guard lebron/wade. and let's just say if haywood is pissed that stojakovic has to guard KD, he might rip peja's head off if he sees him guarding lebron.

i expect carlisle to sacrifice a lot of his offense b/c his offensive players are mediocre or poor defensive players (peja/barea).

 

yes. yes. yes. yes.

 

Lebron/Wade aren't the only two wings the Heat have. Why can't Peja guard Mike Miller?

 

You're right. A guy who's scored over 25000 total points (regular & post seasons) in his career will have no answer for someone with lateral quickness. Obviously, Dirk has never faced such a defender.

 

You can say the same thing about Chandler.

 

the mavs are not a great rebounding team. in fact, they're mediocre. how can i say that?

they have been outrebounded in the playoffs by 2. rebounding isn't a strength for the mavs all season.

i really don't know what you are talking about.

 

See Playoffs, 2007. Dirk can play very well then turn into a non-factor, he's done it before and can very possibly do it again.

 

i'm not saying dirk will be "shut down" ala rose. he will get his, and he will play well. but will he be in GOD MODE like he has in the past 2 series?

that's the question. dirk was basically activated his "god mode" vs the lakers and thunder and shot unconsciously?

there's a difference b/t playing well and playing on god mode. dirk could still play well vs lebron, but i highly doubt he'll continue his god-mode like offensive play vs the heat.

 

like i said, usually when peja was on the court in the playoffs, he's with barea and terry (the bench guys). so how will peja be on miller? you want barea to be on wade and terry to be on lebron?

like i said, carlisle will have to alter his substitution pattern A LOT b/c lebron will be on the court for 43-44 minutes, and wade will be on the court for 40+ minutes.

if barea/peja see extended minutes in this series, their defense will get obliterated. kidd/stevenson shoul see more minutes so they can stay big and guard the heat. but then their offense will have a big drop off.

 

It will not be a pretty sight with Bosh on Dirk. Dirk just destroyed Ibaka and Collison, you think Bosh would stand a chance.

LeBron still the best option on Dirk, but he shoulder too much a offensive load for Miami.

 

And since that series, Dirk's developed a low/mid-post offensive game. He's still primarily a jump shooter, but he'll take lebron to the post if that's what lebron's giving him.


And I think it's hilarious that people are saying Dirk's playing in "god mode" right now. This isn't the first time Dirk has had great, great success in the playoffs. He's put up better all around numbers before. He's just been more aggressive in the 4th quarter. That's the biggest difference I've seen. He's always been a very efficient scorer.

 

Peja would probably guard Haslem, Bosh, Lebron (in that order). That and Dallas plays zone for stretches. If I remember correctly, zone bothered Miami some?

 

This is a prime example of how you annoy people.

Instead of making strawman arguments, how about paying a little more attention to your assertions?

 

You're an idiot.

 

LeBron on Dirk is similar to T-Mac on Dirk in 2005. He will be effective, but would be too exhausted guarding Dirk to be also effective in Miami's offense. Dirk is a much better offensive player than Rose. You are greatly mistaken if you think guarding Dirk is easier than guarding Rose. For Rose, he just need to stay in front of him on the dribble. Dirk can shoot 3 pointers, can shoot mid range, and drive to the basket, can post, and he can also run off multiple screens and catch and shoot.

As for Wade, Steveson/Kidd are not too shabby defensively compared to Bogan/Brewer. Dallas also have interior defender in Chandler/Haywood to match that of Bulls. I expect Wade to struggle, just as in the Bulls series.

 

i agree completely. dallas will have to play zone A TON in this series to compensate for some of their lineups. if not, don't expect barea/peja a lot.

but if they play zone, their size will be mitigated and the heat can crash the boards.

but really, if you play zone for long stretches in the playoff, you're basically waving the white flag.

 

Repped. Dirk has been defended by T-Mac/KG and did pretty well in the playoffs. I don't expect LeBron to be that much better defender than T-Mac/KG. As for Bosh, he would be totally destroyed by Dirk.

 

Miami in 4 or 5.

LeBron is probably the best player in the league to guard Dirk. Miami can easily put Bosh on Marion because it's not like Marion has a crossover or any way to create his own shot against someone taller. Joel Anthony and Tyson Chandler will be a wash. The rest of the Heat defenders can just stay at home on Miami's shooters. If there is a PnR with Dirk and someone else, Miami is athletic enough to where it won't hurt them too much. Even if Dirk gets his, it probably won't be a big deal for Miami.

On the other end, Dallas won't be able to do jack **** to stop Wade or LeBron