Series Thread: Heat vs. Mavericks

[Miamis3rdRing]

Game 1: Tuesday May 31, at AmericanAirlines Arena, 9 p.m.

Game 2: Thursday June 2, at AmericanAirlines Arena, 9 p.m.

Game 3: Sunday June 5, at American Airlines Center, 8 p.m.

Game 4: Tuesday June 7, at American Airlines Center, 9 p.m.

Game 5*: Thursday June 9, at American Airlines Center, 9 p.m.

Game 6*: Sunday June 12, at AmericanAirlines Arena, 8 p.m.

Game 7*: Tuesday June 14, at AmericanAirlines Arena, 9 p.m.

* If necessary

- All times Eastern (EST)

- All games will be televised on ABC in the U.S.

- All games will be televised on TSN in Canada

[Smash3]

Skip to @1:30
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYHM4NJ2tA0[/youtube]

Sucks for Dirk but now its our time! Heat all the way!!

[Heat3]

I agree. I don't despise the Mavs like I did the Bulls. I want us to win. Will feel bad for Dirk and Caron, but gotta root for my team. If their fans hate us it's mostly for 2006 rather than 2010 so I can live with that. They get their chance at revenge and we get our chance to stick it to them once again.

Well, it'll be fun to piss off Mark Cuban again. If there are any haters left it's him. Remember he wanted an investigation into tampering by us and was constantly backing Dan Gilbert and bashing us. Dude's a clown, but I can't hate his team cause of him.

Heat will win. I'll pick them in 5 again but I wouldn't mind it in 6 so we can win it at home. They may score more on us but their defense won't be able to contain our stars.

One thing to reflect. If Shaq had not quit on this team and just grinded it out he would have made the finals once again. All the stuff he's pulled since leaving here hasn't gotten him any closer. We went as low as we could go, but now we're back!

[jmbflame21]

[nonemus]

aka

THE BATTLE OF AMERICAN AIRLINES

[Lane1974]

Don't let go of the rope.

[heat in italy]

I feel like we can still one game at Dallas, so basically if we go up 2 x 0 , I really think that the series is over.

[rainking]

The matchups in this series are going to be very interesting and will test Spo in many ways. Here are my keys:

- Guarding Dirk: Joel should get the assignment to start the game. He did a good job on him in the regular season, has the length to contest his fall-aways, and frankly we can afford Joel getting into foul trouble more than we can Bosh. Haslem, Bosh, and Bron will all have their chances against Dirk, but Joel should get the first crack.

- Big vs. Small: Some very interesting matchups in this series. Heat have had success going small upfront at times this year, but Dallas is tough to do that against if they are going to have either Chandler or Haywood on the court together with Dirk. For that reason, we probably will see one of our previous inactive bigs get some time in this series. I just don't see how we can play Bosh, Joel, and Haslem exclusively upfront. Conversely, one of the Mavs favorite lineups this year has been Barea, Terry, and Kidd playing together in the backcourt. Spo can kill this lineup immediately if he goes big inthe backcourt with Wade, Miller, and Bron. Even if they hide Barea on Miller, Wade and Bron would have huge advantages against Terry and Kidd.

- Busting the Zone: The Mavs don't play zone exclusively but they do use it as much as any team in the league and they are going to dare us to beat them from the outside. This is why I think that James Jones will get some time in this series. We have to have two shooters on the floor against the zone. We also need to not necessarily settle for 3's against the zone. The best way to beat the zone is to move the ball and get it into the middle of the defense, which is why Bosh in the high post area will be key.

- Guarding the 3: These are not the Bulls. If we don't maintain our discipline and stay on their shooters, they will make us pay. We need to close out hard on Terry, Peja, and Kidd, forcing them to drive. The Mavs don't have anyone other than Barea that is adept at penetration, so we need to adjust our defensive mentality.

[NewAge2012]

The MAVs (especially Dirk) will be very motivated to play us again because of how they lost to us in ’06. MIA has not seen the kind of offense DAL brings during these playoffs since Philadelphia (did I actually write that…lol) and DAL has not seen the type of “All World” defense MIA brings since the regular season. “All World” defense and rebounding wins championships, therefore MIA will pull this off again on Dirk & Cuban, not only for those reasons but because of our Big 3’s determination and their superstar drive to quell the national HEAT hate. Our starting five will probably look like DWade, LeBron, Miller, Haslem & Bosh.

We are going to have a tough series in containing Nowitzki, Kidd, Terry, Stojakovic & Barea. Marion is going to be a defensive pain to LeBron & DWade, but our two stars are going to rise to the occasion and out work DAL. MIA wins in 4-1 or 4-2.

[sweet daddy]

Good luck in the series, and good luck to both Miami and Dallas fans as we try to weather all the crap that is going to be flung around on RealGM as the series unfolds. I promise you that I will do everything I can to not become a part of it. In fact, I've committed to keep my posts to a minimum on all boards during the series. I don't want to become a part of the circus, know what I mean?

I think there's a lot at stake for both of these franchises during this series, and a lot of it isn't about who wins. It's about how we conduct ourselves, and how the league conducts itself. The '06 re-match is a great story line that could go really bad.

I intend to show your team and your good fans respect during the series. I hope you intend to do the same to us.

By the way, Miami in 6. Not that I like it, but the better team with home-court advantage ought to win. I'm a homer, but I'm not blind.

[HIF]

I've always liked Dirk and Kidd (and Marion - he was a pro here). Even though he was not nice after the championship I've always liked Cuban too as he seems more of a Fan than many - in fact he's living our dream. I've always liked the Mavs.

But it's Heat in 5.

btw is it 2 in Miami , 3 in Dallas, 2 in Miami?

[DefenseWins]

I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous as hell for this.

The Mavs offense is the best in the post-season. Their ball movement is amazing. They have a good veteran PG and not a shotjacker in Rose. DIRK WANTS A RING TOO. Their bench is very good.

WADE HAS TO PLAY GOOD FOR HEAT TO WIN.

What kind of sucks is that Game 1 will be a feel out game, but they have to win that one because it will be on their home court.

Heat's defense had collapses last night and they kept hitting 3's. Mavs RAIN 3's. The Heat's defense was in the paint for Rose all the time. So they are going to have to adjust....

Joel should not guard Dirk.. he couldn't even guard Garnett. He does not guard people well who are way taller than him....

@sweet daddy, respect! Mavs were just amazing in the post-season though.

BOTH TEAMS HAVE BEEN CLUTCH! MAY THE MOST CLUTCH TEAM WIN! lol

[Chosen01]

I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous as hell for this.

The Mavs offense is the best in the post-season. Their ball movement is amazing. They have a good veteran PG and not a shotjacker in Rose. DIRK WANTS A RING TOO. Their bench is very good.

WADE HAS TO PLAY GOOD FOR HEAT TO WIN.

What kind of sucks is that Game 1 will be a feel out game, but they have to win that one because it will be on their home court.

Heat's defense had collapses last night and they kept hitting 3's. Mavs RAIN 3's. The Heat's defense was in the paint for Rose all the time. So they are going to have to adjust....

Joel should not guard Dirk.. he couldn't even guard Garnett. He does not guard people well who are way taller than him....

@sweet daddy, respect! Mavs were just amazing in the post-season though.

BOTH TEAMS HAVE BEEN CLUTCH! MAY THE MOST CLUTCH TEAM WIN! lol

Never doubt Wade, I think we saw what happened when people do (last night).

[MiaFLSurf]

Need a code for tickets.

ILL BE IN MIAMI FOR GAME ONE

[Rodrizzle]

I would LOL if Wade averages 20fta a game in the series, image all the general board fury.

[Heat3]

Hahahaha, remember "Pat Riley Basketball" all those new rules were supposed to get rid of? Remember how it backfired on Mark Cuban when Dwyane Wade was the player best equipped to take advantage of it?

Five years later Pat Riley has redefined what "Pat Riley Basketball" is Now we have three guys that can take advantage of the rules.

Me thinks Mark Cuban will be a strong advocate of the hand check during this summer's CBA discussions.

[Pimpwerx]

I'd play Bosh on Dirk. As noted, Joel didn't do too good against KG, until we started sending help. But that only worked because KG needed to get a better post position and we were checking him. Dirk can shoot it from anywhere, so length might be more important here.

In any case, I think we contain Dirk and control the glass, and win this series easy. I have no animosity towards Dallas other than I would love nothing more than to shatter their dreams a second time. PEACE.

[kyphi]

For some reason I expect a brawl

thank goodness we won't have to listen to Kerr

Heat in 6

[MiaFLSurf]

Even with the presale PW....Im getting no tickets....boo.

[andre316]

I think there's a good chance Dallas picks off Game 1. We haven't faced an elite offense in the playoffs yet, and it's been a long time since we played these guys in particular (December), and we have a completely different rotation since then (they've had some changes of their own).

I think that kind of unfamiliarity will favor the Mavs and their outside shooting to start the series, but as we become familiarized with each other the pendulum will swing back in our favor as we'll able to give them more defensive fits then they've had in a while.

Heat in 7, with the Heat losing HCA briefly before reclaiming it in Game 3 or 4, but still falling into a 3-2 hole and Dallas fans praying for a reversal of the '06 situation, except Wade and LeBron won't have any of it and will close out two consecutive home wins for the title.

At least I hope for those kinds of dramatics.