Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat-Who do you think will win?

1. 0

   Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

   Okay, now that we have the finals set to get underway, who do you think will win it this year and why?

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      kimberlyslyricsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Steven win what ?  :

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         Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         The NBA championship silly.  Who do you think is going to win it? 

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            kimberlyslyricsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            the NBA?  :

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2. 74

   LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

   Some random thoughts from both sides to start with before declaring a winner (we still have until Tuesday before game 1) so there is plenty of time between now and then to make a prediction:
   
   
   - Home-Court advantage in the NBA Finals 2-3-2 format is a profound advantage for any team that holds the home-court like Miami does. Bear in mind the Heat are undefeated this postseason at home. This means that for Dallas to win, they would almost have to win the series in 5 games. That does not seem likely. In any event, the Mavs almost MUST win ALL 3 home games. That's tough from a mental standpoint being that those games all come consecutively in the middle of the series. It's also difficult from a strategic standpoint considering adjustments made from game to game. It would be hard to imagine the Mavs winning a game 6 or 7 in Miami's house. At the very least, the Mavs would need to have a 3-2 series lead headed back to Miami for potential game 6 and 7.
   
   - The Eastern Conference is/was WEAK this year. Orlando was not half as good as they had been over the last 2-3 years. The Celtics were decimated with injuries. The Bulls had the best record in the East because they took the regular season more seriously than anyone else. In the end, they are a one man team. And that one man is only 22 years old. The rest of the conference is full of the worst teams in the league.
   
   - There is no way Dirk is going to play better than he did in the OKC series. LeBron and Bosh are playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time.
   
   - This is where Caron Butler being out for the season makes a huge difference. Butler would be the Mavs 2nd or 3rd best player and the Mavs are basically throwing DeShawn Stevenson out there instead of him. That's a massive downgrade.
   
   - Both teams have been as clutch in the 4th quarter as can be. The Mavs in particular could have lost the first 3 games to the Lakers, but pulled them out because of excellent offensive and defensive execution in the final 6 minutes of games. A similar thing can be said against OKC, where the Mavs came back from 15 and 8 point deficits in the final minutes of the last two games respectively.  On the other hand, the Heat also had great clutch comeback performances in both their closeout games against the Celtics and Bulls in the final minutes.
   
   - Both teams can play at an up-tempo pace and can also grit it out in defensive struggles. I can easily see some of these games scores being in the 80's just as easily as in the 105+ range.
   
   Benches:
   Mavs - Terry, Barea, Stojakovic, Haywood
   Heat - Miller, Haslem, Jones, Chalmers
   
   I think the quickness of the Heat will make J.J. Barea's production non-existent in this series. That makes Jason Terry a big key to this series for the Mavs, as I do not expect DeShawn Stevenson to produce anything.
   
   - This may be the Mavs final go-around. They are desperate for this title and have played like it to this point. On the other hand, the Heat may not have been expected to cash in their first title in their first season together. Many thought they would win in year 2 or 3 and then run off a string of multiple championships. I'm not sure if that's looks to be the case. Now may be the Heat's best chance to cash in, as Dwayne Wade is starting to break down slowly year after year. Depending on what happens with the NBA labor situation, other star players like D-Will, CP3, and Dwight Howard are looking to join other "superteams" to rival the star power of the Heat.
   
   - The Heat are as quick as and athletic as any team the league has seen in a long time. From a defensive standpoint, that could be nullified if the Mavs continue to be as effective as they have been in making the one extra pass to create an open shot. That's something the Heat did not see in their match against the Bulls. At the same time, if the Mavs turn the ball over or miss their open shots, the Heat's will get into the open court where they are downright unstoppable. The Mavs ability to continue to hit their 3-pointers at a prolific rate is paramount for their success. If they do not shoot well, then they will get destroyed.

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3. 61

   dutchman1951posted 12 years ago

   Miami I think

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4. 60

   optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

   some one took 3hrs to do research to copied and pasted to give a response lol!!!!! This will be a good series lebron vs dirk, kidd vs wade are going to be key matchups to watch.
   I'm gunna say this goes 7 unless the mavs age shows in the 1st game, if the mavs look slow heat in 6!

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      LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Who took 3 hours to research and copy/paste a response?

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5. 69

   Richard83posted 12 years ago

   Dallas and here is why. Miami can't rebound. Dallas can. Second chance points will win this series. If Chicago could score, Miami wouldn't be there. Dallas can score at will and they are more skilled then Miami as a whole. Dallas is playing their best ball right now. They have won 12 of 13 or something close to that. Dirk is the best player in the league and the best at this point and time in the series, Don't forget that Wade is hurt also. Dallas 4 Miami 3. It will be a good series but Dallas wins this one. They are the better road team.

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   prettydarkhorseposted 12 years ago

   I believe in Dirk he has shown leadership, and if Dirk can't deliver at times, the team can help, they have proven that!

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   ballfan92posted 12 years ago

   The Miami Heat have all the pieces and are sparking at the right time in the season. They have the momentum and will take this series in 5 or 6 games.

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8. 69

   Richard83posted 12 years ago

   Miami will officially BUY their championship in a few years but not this year. Cleveland will pull out the vudu doll and curse James and the Heat! lol

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9. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 12 years ago

   I'll take the Heat if they can keep the games in the low 90s.

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10. 58

    Ign Andyposted 12 years ago

    Dallas Mavericks!

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11. 0

    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    How did this get past me without even knowing it? Well, I'm appalled!!!

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    Woman Of Courageposted 12 years ago

    I think the Dallas Mavericks will win.

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    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    Aw, pleeeeease! Big ol' No-whiskey... (I mean, Nowitzki) bent his little middle finger! Boooo-hooooo...

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14. STAFF

    Paul Edmondsonposted 12 years ago

    Not looking good for the Mavs with Dirk's finger injury. He likes to go left.

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       prettydarkhorseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I agree with that! Bad timing!

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15. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    Epic Comeback by the Mavs. They did it again just like they did twice against OKC! What a stunner. All of that after the Heat were celebrating like they had already won the Championship after going up 15 with 6 minutes to go.
    
    Like they say: The NBA - Where Amazing Happens

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       Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I'll say.  Did you know that the last time this happened was when Michael Jordan's Bulls came back against the Portland Trailblazers in the finals?  Wow, I just hope this year's Mavs will end up with the same results this year.

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16. 68

    Michael Willisposted 12 years ago

    Tonight's comeback win by the Mavs was awesome!

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    Mike Lickteigposted 12 years ago

    Game 2 was an amazing win for the Mavs and it officially turned this matchup into a series.  I would like to see the Mavericks win--the Heat will get their trophy soon enough.

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    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    It was a stupid loss. They should have mantained the same defense until the last second. Oh well! Sunday we'll have another chance.

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       Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Klara is my taco almost ready???

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       Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You do bring up a great point Klara.  Another thing worth mentioning is that LeBron James, really needs to step up in the fourth quarter.  If you look at his stats, the guy is doing horribly in this finals during the fourth quarter.
       
       I don't know if it's because Dallas is doing that great of a job defending him, or if he's just choking under the pressure, or both, but he really needs to snap out of it soon.  Something tells me that Wade may not be 100 percent for the next game, so Miami needs James to step up.

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    Woman Of Courageposted 12 years ago

    The game tonight was unbelievable. Go Mavs!

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20. STAFF

    Paul Edmondsonposted 12 years ago

    Wild finish. Dirk's shots were huge. What was Terry thinking on defense. I've never seen a guy get that open of a look all the way across the court on an out of bounds play. He'd feel terrible if they lost.  Lebron took some awful shots down the stretch. Not sure what was going on there. This series just tilted toward Dallas.

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       LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       What may have happened there is that once Wade hit that three-pointer to put the Heat up 15, it dawned on LeBron that they were about to go up 2-0 in the series and Dwayne Wade was on his way to the MVP award after having far superior numbers through two games.  So then LeBron tried to take it over in order to run up his stats a little to get back into the MVP discussion. It just backfired.

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          Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I agree.  This is exactly why Miami's big 3 will never measure up to the nineties Bull's big 3.  Because at least on those teams, you knew who's team it was.  Whereas the Heat, you still get the sense that LeBron James and Dwayne Wade haven't really decided who's the real team captain of that team yet.  Personally, I think Princess James needs to keep his ego in check and just worry about doing whatever it takes to win without worrying about stats.

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             LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Yeah. I find it amusing. LeBron and Wade competing for the MVP to the detriment of the team.
             
             You know this whole thing is all about LeBron. And if he loses the MVP award to Wade, how will his place in history pass Wade's? Wade will always have one more title and will already be up 2-0 in Finals MVP. LeBron's going to start forcing the issue to make sure that doesn't happen. It started at the end of the game tonight and it will be interesting to see it continue.

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       prettydarkhorseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Amazing win! I think that the Heat were a little bit disorganized in the last 6 mins, Lebron missed baskets. They passed the "Heat" to the Mavs. Dirks last two baskets were very crucial and he delivered well!

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21. 0

    Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

    Well even though the Mavs did earn tonight's victory, part of the reason why they lost was because of Princess James.  He would've just PASSED the ball to Wade more often during the fourth quarter, then they would've won. Wade had the hot hand for the Heat all night, so there's no excuse for LeBron to not give him the damn ball.  All I can say is, Spoelstra and Wade better talk to Mrs. LeBron James after this game, or it could be all over for the Heat.

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22. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    Very good win by the Heat tonight in game 3. Why did they win? Because they didn't try to play hero ball; LeBron didn't try to go one-on-five down the stretch. Rather, they ran it through Wade (the MVP) and got big plays from Bosh and their role players, Chalmers and Haslem.
    
    Right now it looks like the Heat are in firm command of the series. Dallas played with a lot of heart, especially Nowitzki. However, Dallas received the benefit of a lot of calls in this game that it would be hard to imagine them getting for the rest of the series. Dallas needed to win this close game. Although the Mavs have a lot of heart and will not give up, it would be hard to imagine them coming back to win this series.

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23. 0

    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    
    
    Watch out people! It's another loose ball foul against the Heat!
    
    Geeeeeeeeeeeezzzz!!! Are you serious?! Can they call any more anti-Heat referees?

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24. 64

    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    May I offer some help to LeBron James?
    
    

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25. 62

    prettydarkhorseposted 12 years ago

    It is still anybody's game.
    
    I would like to see a game where Dallas is leading points in the 4th quarter and Miami wins!
    
    If Lebron James and Wade play well, Miami surely wins, LBJ is not his best last night, he was guarded well. Wade is consistent so far.
    
    @Greek One, LOL..

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       Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Wade should have asked the Heat to give him James' and Bosh money and let him win by himself instead of having to carry the two overpaid stiffs.  he is by far a better player than the two of them

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          prettydarkhorseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I like Wade better than James, he is not assuming!
          
          Good to see you Greek!

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26. STAFF

    Paul Edmondsonposted 12 years ago

    This series is more even then I thought.  It's going seven games.

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27. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    This has, up to this point, been one of the greatest NBA Finals series of all-time with every game coming down to the very end. The Mavs have played with so much heart, and even though I am rooting for the Mavs, I believe the Heat will win the series regardless of what happens in game 5. I hope I am wrong. It's just that in watching these games you always sensed that the Heat were in control. The reason the Heat has lost these games in the 4th Qtrs is because LeBron has been absent. He didn't try to do anything in games 1,3, or 4, and in game 2 he tried to take over and ended up costing the team greatly with his ridiculous shot selection. I do not expect this to continue. Besides, guys like Chalmers, Bibby and even Haslem are doing enough for the Heat to win. It's just a matter of time before LeBron gets it together to some extent. Plus, I don't see the Heat getting eliminated on their own home-court, although I think it would be very enjoyable to watch!

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28. 0

    Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

    Well all I'm going to say is if the Mavericks want to win the title, then game 5 is a must win for them.  They cannot afford to lose this next game at any cost because I doubt seriously they have what it takes to beat the Heat two games in a row in Miami.  If they can manage to win game 5, then that'll put all the pressure back on the Heat to try to even the series, as it would put the Mavs in a cushy position to only worry about winning one more game on the road versus winning two on the road...in a row no less too.  Something that I don't think the Mavs can do against the Heat, as I can't see Miami blowing two games in a row.  All I'm going to say is that game 5 will determine whether or not the Mavericks have any shot to win the series, as it's a must win for them.

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    prettydarkhorseposted 12 years ago

    I think Miami must win Game 5 in order for them to win the title not the other way around, that is just me. Mavs always come back and if there is some kind of tension bet James and Wade (who will hold the ball to the last minute, who is the team captain etc), this doesn't look good on the team. If James and Wade play well, they win. Dirk is still sick and hope he get past it soonest!
    
    I go for Mavs, they are resilient, I wish they will win this series!

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    optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

    since chuck said "if the generals were playing the heat I'd pick the general" I'd say its possible that the heat win 2 straight and stop playing with dirk!

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    ftclickposted 12 years ago

    it's anyone's series right now tied at 2-2, but with home court advantage to the Heat, I'd lean to them winning

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32. STAFF

    Paul Edmondsonposted 12 years ago

    A lot of people picking the Mavs to win tonight.  Dr Oz was on ESPN today and even picked the Mavs by 3.  Loved his talking about the amount of blood professional athletes pump per second.  About 50% more than regular people.

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33. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    Unbelievable. The Mavs did it again and took the 3-2 lead. And this time, they shot the ball like they did in the series against the Lakers. We all know about Dirk, but So much credit has to go to Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, and J.J. Barea for the game they played.
    
    This does set up an interesting dynamic. Although LeBron had a small triple-double, he basically didn't want anything to do with the game as the 4th qtr wound down and Dallas smacked the Heat in the face. I'm thinking that LeBron is not going to want to go out this season with all of the negative critiques of him and will try to force this issue in game 6. What will decide that game is whether that ends up helping the Heat or hurting them.

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34. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    LoL, wow. I just saw a video of LeBron and Wade entering the arena before game 5 making a mockery of Dirk being sick for game 4. Tonight, the joke  ended up being on them once again. The arrogant bullies have met their match.
    
    Ironically in the video, LeBron was the follower to Wade. Certainly is Wade's team.

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    optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

    paging Mr. James the 4rth guarter has started where are you? Hes right there! where? Under the bench. Under the bench??? yes under the bench? why? Desean stevenson said "boo"

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36. 0

    Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

    I think James is scared if they win the title, then he won't get most of the glory like he wants but at the same time, he wants to try to justify his move to backstab Cleveland.  Oh decisions, decisions. 
    
    @grimlock
    
    I thought James was a girl?    Isn't that why he's called Princess James?  (joke)

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    ftclickposted 12 years ago

    Chalmers is more assuming than James right now. I liked his game in college. He has stepped it up in the finals. similar to Celtics/Lakers last year. The C's were up 3-2 heading to L.A. and lost both games. Kobe still got an MVP with horrible 7th game stats.  Looks like Wade again could get an MVP. Why is LeBron choking? his other teammates look great. could the mob be involved? (Mafia/Russian Mob)

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38. 85

    ComfortBposted 12 years ago

    The Maaaavvvvveeeerrriiiicccckkkkssss of course!
    LeBron Who? He can't deliver. Last night proved it.
    'Cause Dwayne wasn't there to help him out.
    
    LeBron need to take some lessons from my  boys Terry, Chandler, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, and Tyson.

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    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    Wow, the similarities are shocking!
    
    
    
    
    

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    optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

    well there was a report that his gf recently had an affair with richard lewis, if thats true it would hurt his game. the last 2 games are in miami so they have a good chance of winning

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41. 85

    ComfortBposted 12 years ago

    O Greek one, you are funny! How'd you come up with that?

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42. 0

    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    EVERYBODY... LET ME HEAR YOU SAY...
    LET'S GO HEAT!!!
    
    
    
    

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43. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    A few observations at halftime of game 6:
    
    Dirk: 1-12 from the floor. 8-9 of those 12 shots were wide open. After an epic performance up this point in the series, is it possible he's choking like he has done his whole career up until these finals in the biggest games? Earlier this series, I said if the Mavs lost, it would be because of the lack of supporting cast; however...
    
    Jason Terry 19 pts at half,
    Stevenson 9 pts at half...
    
    but..
    
    Stevenson's unexpected game is being canceled out by Eddie House, who had not played in the series, with 9 pts.
    
    Heat came out and took a 8-9 pt lead
    Mavs go on a run and take a big 12 pt lead
    Then the Heat catch fire with LeBron on the bench and go on a 16-1 run to take the lead.
    
    Crazy.
    
    Some questionable calls thus far as well.
    
    If the Mavs don't close them out here, it's not going to happen. This is there chance. Calling Dirk Nowitzki...

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44. 0

    klarawieckposted 12 years ago

    I hate to say it, but the Heat didn't want it bad enough. I'm happy for the Mavs. They deserved to win. They played a better game.

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45. 60

    Extinct Soulposted 12 years ago

    woohoo!!

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46. 69

    Richard83posted 12 years ago

    I called this one even before it started. The world is a better place tonight. Dallas, thanks for the check.

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47. 74

    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    Dallas just had so much heart determination, and passion that they just broke the will of the Heat. And if you think about it, the team that wants it the most, almost always wins it in the end every season. Amazing postseason by the Mavs, silencing their many critics. Each individual player had a chip on their shoulder and they made this work as a true team. That's the only way you can do it when you think about the fact they got by the Lakers and the Heat in route to this title. Job incredibly done!

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    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    It sounds like Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is celebrating after this quote in a post game tweet:
    
    "Old Lesson for all:There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE. "
    
    Dan Gilbert is a happy man tonight.

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    LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

    It looked like Chris Bosh was devastated after the game, as he buckled to his knees going back to the lockeroom and got emotional and then covered his face when he got up. He has some heart and you can tell he wanted it. He played a good game tonight, but when you're in his situation and you have LeBron and Wade also on the team, he had to defer to them. Tough situation for him.

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       klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Chalmers played good throughout too. He's always been one of my favorites. It was Mavs turn to win this time. They did to us what we did to them.

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          LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Good point about Chalmers, Klara. He played very well in this series and played with a ton of confidence. He was actually more aggressive than LeBron was throughout most of the series. That's hard to imagine. Chalmers was a big time clutch player in college and is now starting to show that with this Heat team. Chalmers never shyed away from a moment and he will be a big part of the puzzle for the Heat in the years to come.

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             klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I hope he remains here. I just bought his shirt!

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                LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                No doubt. Chalmers is the type of player the Heat needs. 18 pts, 7 asts, 3 stls just tonight alone. He's not afraid of the big moments. After the game the media has talked a bit about blowing up the Heat team (LoL) but they'll be fine. They just need to learn how to play together because the further LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Chalmers get in their careers, the more they will want it like the Mavs wanted it this year.  Chalmers is definitely a big piece to the puzzle they need to build with.
                
                They'll likely get rid of Bibby, Big Z, House, maybe James Jones, Dampier, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire. I also don't think Mike Miller did anything to help the team this year either. Remember, the Heat gave away Michael Beasley, who averaged 20 ppg this season just in order to afford Miller. Mistake.

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                   klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Don't even get me started about Beasly! I was in tears!
                   I think Miller should stay. He had injuries, but he's a good shooter. I don't know about Jones leaving. He is a Miami native and they'll have to drag him (kicking and pounding) our of the American Airlines Arena.

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                      LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      I liked Beasley a lot too and am mad myself that my T-Wolves have him on the trade block right now. He's so talented.
                      
                      In all reality, I don't think the Heat have a choice when it comes to Miller. He's under contract for a few years and makes more money than other teams would pay to trade for him. I think he'll be there.
                      
                      On the other hand, I'm pretty sure James Jones is not under contract and they only played him 2-3 minutes, at most, in this series for whatever reason. I don't understand why they didn't play him more. He had a nice regular season and had a great couple of games against the Celtics. I think he fit them pretty well, but I doubt they'll bring him back due to the fact they hardly played him in this series.

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                         klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         Spoelstra's decisions are beyond our grasp! Jones is a reliable shooter, and has gotten us out of trouble more than once. I remember Bibi being a better player before he came to the Heat. I don't know what happened to him? As for House, he's had a better season than Bibbi. Why didn't he use him in the finals as he should have? If Pat had been the couch this year, we would be holding the trophy right now.

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                            LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                            I do agree about Spoelstra, but he's one of the youngest coaches in NBA history and they need to be patient with him. He just did not make adjustments in this series. He got destroyed by his counterpart, Rick Carlisle. Nor did Spo ever figure out a plan as to how to get James, Wade, and Bosh to complement one another and make each other better. He just kind of rolled the ball out there and let things play themselves out, relying on the great players to figure it out. But on the other hand, it's not fair to compare anyone to Pat Riley, who is one of the best coaches in NBA history.

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                               Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                               I think you make an excellent point there.  Plus, you have to consider this is a different era than when Pat started out.  Now a days, coaches are on such short leashes that if a star player even suggests that they don't like him, or the directing he's taking the team, then it's automatically his fault and deserves to be fired. 
                               
                               Plus, knowing how big LeBron's ego is, and how most of the team still views Wade as the captain, he obviously didn't want to do anything that might p**s off any of his superstars; hence why he probably allowed the players to work out most of their problems themselves.
                               
                               Although I have to agree with Klara to some degree that if Riley had been coaching these finals instead of Spoelstra, then you might've seen a different result of this series.  Not to take anything away from the Mavericks, as they certainly earned this year's title. 
                               
                               However, you and I both know Pat Riley would've said something to LeBron about his poor play in the fourth quarter of that series, and we both know that he would've been harder on Bosh to play tougher on the inside; which might've produced better results.
                               
                               Don't get me wrong, I think Spoelstra is a great coach, and I think he's certainly shown how versatile he is to still manage to coach the Heat up to one of the best records in the league; in spite of chemistry issues early on.  However, I doubt seriously LeBron would've choked or fail to not give the ball to Wade in game 4, as I'm sure Pat Riley would've had quite a few not so nice words to say to him about that.

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                               klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                               I'm sure Spoelstra will be a great coach. No doubt. I think most heat fans trust the fact that he's been schooled by Pat. Even though we disagreed with many of his decisions throughout the series, he still managed to get the team to the finals. And yes, in part it was his fault, but to win a title you need to have your heart and soul in the game. It just wasn't there. Poor Spoelstra, he got more and more orange with the stress!

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                                  Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                  hello Klara
                                  
                                  Where is my taco?
                                  
                                  

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                                     klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                     http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/77068#post1667315

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                   Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Although both you and klara make some good points, I have to disagree with both of you about Miller and Beasley.  The reality is that as good as Beasley was offensively, the guy wasn't known for his defensive awareness. Hell, the guy even admitted in interviews saying how he never played defense in his life because nobody asked him too.  The reality is that Beasley was a wasted draft pick for the Heat that they needed to get rid of him, as he was dead weight on that team. Miller did provide the Miami Heat enough energy and contribution off the bench to help them in the playoffs.  As I don't care what anyone says, if you look at the Heat's team before the Chicago series, they didn't have much of a bench.  It wasn't until Spoelstra activated both Miller and Haslem from the bench that the Heat finally gained a respectable bench.  If it wasn't for those two players giving the Heat energy off the bench (something that you can't measure in stats by the way, but you tell by watching them play), then the Heat would've lost to the Bulls. 
                   
                   Therefore, I don't think you can write off the contribution of Miller that easily for this team.  After all, if you look at the stats for Robert Horry when he played for the Lakers and Spurs, then in hindsight it's easy to say he didn't do anything for those teams when they won titles; based purely off his stats.  However, if you watch the game, and see the energy he brought to the team off the bench, along with making key shots when it mattered, then you can see how he made the difference.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing Miller to Horry, but I do think that Miller is going to be a key player for them moving forward.  As I'm sure both you and Klara can agree that if Miller and Haslem have been healthy for throughout the whole season, then the Heat would've been a much better team by the playoffs.

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                      LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      I do think you can write off Mike Miller. I hate to say that because he's a great human being. But he's nowhere close to being the player Beasley is at this point in their respective careers. This isn't the triple-double threat caliber Mike Miller who played in Memphis anymore. He's very similar to Mike Bibby now in that he used to be a very good player, who is now only good for some threes every once in a while.
                      
                      Sure Beasley has never been a good defensive player, but I'm not sure anyone realizes how great of a scorer he is. He's also extremely athletic. The Heat's defense was so good because of the athleticism of Wade, James, and Bosh. Even though Beasley doesn't care about defense, his athleticism would make a bigger impact on their defense than the slowness of Miller at this point.

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                         Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         Hence like I said, if Miller and Haslem would've been healthy throughout most of the season or playoffs, then I'm sure they would've made a much bigger impact than most people think.  Besides, we can't write off the energy both him and Haslem brought off the bench, as the Heat didn't really have much of a bench until spoelstra reactivated those two into the playoffs. 
                         
                         As for Beasley, you're right.  He's a great offensively gifted athletic player, but defense still wins titles.  Plus, from watching the finals, Bosh showed that he's not a real great defensive player either.  Therefore, leaving both Bosh and Beasley on the same team would've been a huge defensive liability for the Heat, as neither of them are known for being tough physical defensive minded players. 
                         
                         As for Beasley, you're right.  He's a helluva of a player.  However, he reminds me too much of Amare Stoudemire.  Great athletic offensively gifted player, but he's not reliable when it comes to winning.

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    smantyposted 12 years ago

    I am super happy with the turnout! I'm not a huge fan of Dallas, but I despise the Heat. The past 6 games were amazing to watch!

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       Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You despise the Heat?  I don't know about that.  Although I still hate the hell out of LeBron for what he did, I kind of found a new respect for the Heat.  They showed a lot of heart in this series, and showed a lot of resolve through adversity, so you know they're going to be back to contend next season. 
       
       However, the thing that would concern me though if I was a Heat fan would be the situation between LeBron and Wade.  Sure, Miami fans can boast all they want about how allegedly the Heat weren't playing at the top of their games all season, and that's why the Mavs won...blah blah blah.  However, the reality is that LeBron has grown up his whole life being told that he's allegedly going to be the next Michael Jordan, and possibly surpass him.  We saw in game 3, where Wade yelled and chewed him out in the series.  Not only that, but we saw Wade force LeBron to take on a sidekick role in the finals too.  Knowing this, and knowing how LeBron even publicly said he wants to be a global icon, then you'd have to worry if you're a Heat fan.
       
       Why?  Because you can't have a winning team with two alpha dogs running the show.  Sure, Kobe and Shaq were alpha dogs that ran the Lakers for a while, and it was known to Laker fans that they hated each other, but they got along because in spite of their quarells they still won.  It wasn't until they finally lost in a finals that you saw the true nature of their relationship unfold, as it's fairly obvious they never liked each other.  Sure, they might respect each other, but I doubt seriously they're close buddies.
       
       What do this have to do with the Heat?  Well if my hunch is correct, then if Miami doesn't win a title AGAIN next year, then you might start to see Wade and LeBron go at it.  Hell, you might see them try to kill each other during the playoffs if LeBron chokes again like he did in this year's finals.  All I'm saying is that if I was a Miami fan, then i'd be praying for not only a fast start next year, but a epic championship finish.  Otherwise, you could see this team broken up by the end of next year, as I know LeBron and Wade aren't going to put up with each other all year if they're not seeing results.

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          LakeShow Tposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          These are some great points about the Heat's troubles and the parallels between the problems pertaining to the star clashed between LeBron and Wade to that of ShaQ and Kobe. The only difference there was the fact that ShaQ and Kobe were different types of players from one another and they made the other parts work around them as well. Whereas LeBron and Wade are the same type of player. Dallas did expose that particular flaw of the team because it made James (supposedly the best player currently in the NBA) take a backseat to Dwayne Wade. Dallas set a blueprint here for beating the Heat. Take LeBron out of it and you'll cause problems with the Heat because it would then become Wade's team, which relegates James to being a disengaged spectator because he's just a front-runner.
          
          The aspect I do not agree with is the point that the Heat played with a lot of heart. I don't think they did. However, that is a testament to the Mavs for taking the will away from them. The Mavs won the final 3 games of the series and they dominated all of the 4th qtrs, especially the final 6-9 minutes. Tonight, once the Heat saw dejavu all over again. When the Mavs made  key shots in the 4th (especially Barea's 3) to respond to Heat baskets, the Mavs ripped the heaty out of the Heat. Time and time again. The Heat basically gave up at that point. That one possession the Mavs had the ball for like 1:10 and ran the clock out with all of those offensive rebounds. Guys stopped moving around offensively and defensively, and  the Heat (especially Wade) just gave in by putting up a bunch of 3's because they didn't want to fight anymore. All of this however is a testament to the Mavs because they also did the same thing against the Lakers. The Mavs experience and resolve really prevailed, demoralized their opponents, and stripped their opponents of their will.

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       klarawieckposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Oh, how original you are.

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