It's that time of year again: The Finals. And it's Lakers vs Heat. No wait, that's not right. Force of habit, sorry. It's MAVERICKS vs Heat. LeBron and co. are clear favourites, but no team in the Finals can be written off. Mavericks have shown they are worthy opponents after their 4-1 demolition of Oklahoma City, with the wins mainly centred around German powerhouse Dirk Nowitzki. A 48 point game, where he scored 24-of-24 from the free throw line, and a 40 point game from the big German in games 1 and 4 respectively, were the key to Dallas' success. Stellar performances from Jason Kidd in each game helped them to win as he recorded 17 steals in the series (3.4 per game). He also topped the stats for most assists in every game except game 4, and collected a good amount of rebounds for a guard. The only thing that was left to be desired was his scoring. He only started to pick it up in game 4 where he scored 17 points, after he recorded a grand total of 16 points in games 1 and 2 combined. He then was back to his early series performance in Game 5, where he made just 1-of-7 field goals to score 2 points. He did make up for it by bagging 7 rebounds (4 of which were offensive) and 10 assists. So for Dallas to win, they need Dirk to continue what he is doing and players like Kidd and Shawn 'Flatshot' Marion to be on their game.
As I said in my Conference Finals Post, Chris Bosh is once again key for Miami. He played extraordinarily well in the Conference Final series steamrollering of Chicago, and must carry on his form for the majority of the series. He played pretty well in Game 1, but must play better as Dallas aren't going to just let Heat win. Miami need more support outside the Big 3 as well. Obviously this is their major source of points, but of the 92 they scored in Game 1, 65 were scored by Bosh, James and Wade. Outside of them, only Chalmers hit double figures, scoring 12, and the other 2 starters, Bibby and Anthony, didn't score a single point between them. In 32 combined minutes, Bibby and Anthony grabbed 3 rebounds (all Anthony's) and dished 3 assists (all Bibby's). Not a strong enough performance really, but it was enough as Dallas' players didn't score all-too well, with a lack of bench points essentially giving Heat victory. So for Miami to win, Bosh needs to perform like he did vs Chicago, and they need more support from other players outside the Big 3.
I want Dallas to win for obvious reasons (LeBron), but it could be an uphill battle, especially after losing Game 1. I feel it's all about game 3, and whether Mavericks can win at home or not. Whatever happens in game 2, Game 3 is the important one. Game 4 is obviously important as well as it is also in Texas, but whoever wins Game 3 will win the series. I'm not going to make a prediction for this, so we'll just sit back, relax, and see what happens.
