NBA Finals Preview

The NBA Finals series between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat should be an exciting, fast paced style of play. While the Mavericks have one superstar and about eight other players who can be effective, the Heat focus on the big three to generate most of their scoring. The Mavs have done a great job this season and playoffs in spreading out the court because of their ability to shoot the long range field goal. The opening of the court has also led to strong penetration from guard JJ Barea and one-one-one matchups for Dirk Nowitzki. The Heat, on the other hand, will look to get into the fast break in order to showcase Lebron James and Dwayne Wade’s explosive and entertaining abilities. The Heat will look to create quick transition opportunities in order to get up court and catch Dallas off guard. When the Heat team is in the half court, they will look to be effective by using pick-and-roll offense with Chris Bosh. Bosh may be the x-factor in this series because of his ability to make the medium range jump shot and open up the court.  Bosh’s jump shot will force the Mavs big’s to come out and open the lane for superstar’s James and Wade. 

The Mavs have gotten a lot stronger on the defensive side of the ball this season because of great play from players like Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler. Marion, like against Oklahoma City, will have the responsibility of trying to slowing down the opponent’s top scorer. Marion did a phenomenal job in frustrating Kevin Durant and constantly making him uncomfortable. This series, Marion will have a more physical battle with superstar Lebron James. Marion need’s to focus more heavily on James’s ability to attack the basket, rather than his jump shot .Tyson Chandler will also have a difficult assignment against forward Chris Bosh. Nowitzki will help on Bosh as well, but Chandler will be the man getting physical and using the hard fouls. Chandler’s athletic abilities give him the opportunity to slow down Bosh from getting easy buckets on the court. It will also be interesting to see how the Mavs will plan on slowing down Dwayne Wade. The Mavs do not necessarily have a guard who can defensively keep up with the superstar D-Wade. Because of the Mavs strong depth, the team will probably look to throw multiple defenders at him throughout the game. DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd will all have the responsibility in frustrating D-Wade throughout the series.

Another key matchup will be how the Heat tries to slow down the guard play of JJ Barea, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers will have their hands full trying to slow the dangerous scorers the Mavs feature in the back court. If the Mavs guards continue to be aggressive, the Heat will have a lot on their plate defensively. However, the Mavs have not seen a quick defense like the Miami Heat s in the playoffs thus far. The Mavs have seen three teams who do not have the talented defensive players the Heat can constantly throw at you. It will be interesting to see how the Mavs react to the tougher looks and physical style of play.

In the end, the series will come down to defensive execution and help. If the Mavs can continue to play smart offense with little turnovers, the Heat will have a lot of difficulty getting into a fast paced, comfortable rhythm. If the Heat can force the Mavs into continual tough shots and get into transition quickly, the Mavs will have a lot of problems slowing down the explosive Heat squad. The Mavs also need to play great defense, in order to frustrate James and Wade and keep them from getting hot. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James were just too much for the Bulls team late in games.  The two players got hot and the Bulls inexperience could not stop it. The Western Conference Finals was also very similar to this, because of the Thunder’s inability to slow down Dirk in late game situations. The Thunder youth was showcased late because of their inability to remain consistent on offense. Coming into this series, both Mavs and Heat are veteran groups. Both know what it takes to be effective in crunch time and very rarely does either team look offensively challenged. The Mavs and Heat trust where the ball needs to go because of their veteran leadership and multiple attackers. Because of both team’s veteran and smart style of play, the series should be an electrifying one with constant back-and-forth scoring. Unlike the last series for both teams, I expect strong execution late in game. It will be interesting to see how both teams’ plan on slowing down the other’s strengths. The Mavs will look to slow down the game and find good looks, while also getting Dirk into a nice rhythm. The Heat will look to get into a fast style of play and force the Mavs into a rushed, uncomfortable offense. Whoever can play at their tempo and with strong defense, will most likely be the 2011 NBA Champions.