Heat vs Mavericks, breaking down the match-ups

A most awaited rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals is what we will see in this NBA Season. The Miami Thrice will face the Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks. 2006 was triumphant for the Heat but it is an entirely different story now. With a different cast for both teams. The two teams have pretty solid line ups and have shown impressive stats and plays through their respective conferences, but now let us go deep down and analyze the possible match-ups.


STARTERS


1. POINT GUARD


Heat: Mike Bibby vs. Mavericks: Jason Kidd


As we can see, both of these point guards were not that athletic compare to their previous opponents, but they proved that they could stand in front of stronger and quicker guards like Russell Westbrook, Andre Miller, Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose.
Yes, both of these guys are hungry for their first NBA Championship Ring. Both are wounded through several NBA battles and have acquired enough leadership skills to lead their team into better plays in the finals.
Skill-wise, they are identical, with good passing skills and a decent three-point shot, but I think that JASON KIDD has his edge over Mike Bibby.
Jason Kidd has been in the Finals for two seasons back in New jersey along Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson, while Mike Bibby only appeared in the Western Conference Finals. Jason Kidd would have that enough experience to outshine Bibby in the Finals. The Mavs might start with JJ Barrea, but this is the Finals, Barrea has no finals experience yet, so it would be smarter for the Mavs to start with Kidd.


2. SHOOTING GUARD


Heat: Dwyane Wade vs. Mavericks: Jason Terry


The Jet vs The Flash. 
Though Jason Terry had impressive games in this playoffs, we cannot deny that Dwyane Wade is a better over-all player compare to Terry.
Wade has clear advantage over Terry in terms of quickness, athleticism, clutch-shooting and of course, leadership. Wade was a proven scorer and had lead the Heat when they won the 2006 NBA Finals over the Mavericks and he was crowned as NBA Finals MVP. Also, Jason Terry was inconsistent in the playoffs compare to Wade. In this playoff, Wade averaged 23.9 PPG, 7.30 RPG, 4.2 APG compare to Terry's 17.3 PPG, 1.90 RPG, 3.2 APG.
Since 2006, Wade has improved into a better player, having so much exposure in International Tournaments and even through highs and lows in the NBA.
Wade, now with a better support cast won't hesitate to repeat his stunning performance in 2006 against the Mavs.


3. SMALL FORWARD


Heat: Lebron James vs. Mavericks: Shawn Marion

The Matrix vs. King James. 
Both are hungry for a taste of NBA Championship.
There's no question, Lebron is one of the best players in NBA today. Though Shawn Marion is a good player, we cannot deny the fact that Lebron would just eventually devour him with his speed, power and athleticism.
Lebron has been a man on a mission in the playoffs averaging  25.9 PPG, 8.70 RPG,  5.4 APG. These numbers are quite impressive despite the fact that he is sharing the lime light with two other superstars.
Lebron has also something to prove in front of the anger of the Cleveland fans that he relinquished. He must prove that his decision to move to the Southbeach was right.
And also, Michael Jordan won his first title in his 7th season. This is Lebron's 7th season. If the people insist that Lebron is the next Jordan, the pressure is on Lebron. there's a pressure for him to win a ring this year.


4. POWER FORWARD


Heat: Chris Bosh vs. Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki


Long guys with good shooting touches. A key match-up for this series.
Recently, Chris Bosh had proven that Miami has their Big Three and not the so-called Big 2.5. Bosh was impressive in their last playoff encounter with the top-seeded Chicago Bulls. Bosh was averaging 18.5 PPG, 8.90 RPG, 1.1 APG all in all in the playoffs. Bosh is in fact more athletics and could bang bodies more compare to Dirk.
On the other hand, the league's former MVP's numbers in this playoffs were eye-popping, averaging around  28.4 PPG,  7.50 RPG,  2.7 APG and has been the man of the ball game for the Mavericks.
With these, Dirk has a slight advantage to Bosh. But let us look at their clutch performance. Nowitzki has recently noted as the "German Clutch" because of his hot hands and sharp three point shooting during crunch time which is a huge lead for him.
Despite Dirk's softness in defense, he still got the edge over Bosh because of his deadly outside shooting that could spread Miami's defense. This could open up a lane for slashers like Shawn Marion and Jason Terry.


5. CENTER


Heat: Joel Anthony vs. Mavericks: Tyson Chandler

No offense to Joel Anthony, but all NBA fans know that Tyson Chandler is the better Center. 
Statistically, Chandler is averaging 7.3 PPG, 9.30 RPG, 0.3 APG compare to Anthony's 3.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.5 APG.
Chandler has that length and quickness advantage that could be exploited by him with this match up against Anthony. Joel Anthony however has that inside defense that can stop slashers. 
Still, Chandler has advantage since he could finish plays like alley-oops and pick and rolls, better than Anthony.




THE BENCH AND X-FACTORS


Heat: Mike Miller, Eric Dampier, Udonis Haslem Eddie House, Juwon Howard, Jamaal Magloire, Mario Chalmers, Dexter Pittman, Zydrunas Ilgauskas


vs.


Mavericks: JJ Barrea, Peja Stojakovic, Rodrique Beaubois, Corey Brewer, Caron Butler, Brian Cardinal, Brendan Haywood, Dominique Jones, Ian Mahinmi, DeShawn Stevenson



 If we talk about the X-Factors, the Miami Heat could have a lot of those like Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller who could ignite the crowd and start a run for a team, wherein the Dallas may lack.
But the Heat's bench was not that deep compare to the Mavericks, but was proven to give the necessary spark for the team. However, if Erik Spoelstra would stick to that 8- man rotation,and knowing that the Heat's scoring production was mostly coming from the Big Three,  the Mavericks bench can take advantage and could tire-up the whole Miami squad. With a good player rotation for the Dallas, the Mavs could win this "Battle of the Bench".


Coach


Heat: Erik Spoelstra vs Mavericks: Rick Carlisle

Erick Spoelstra had prove himself to be a deserving coach for the Miami's Big Three even though he was criticized all through out the season due to his poor player rotation. However, Spoelstra's defensive tactics were impressive as shown by their previous encounter with the Bulls, wherein they were able to shut Derrick Rose during the dying period of the game. That defensive strategy is lacking for Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle's strategy is about running and gunning, and as we all know, defense always win the Championship. So it would have been an advantage for the Heat when we talk about coaching and their defensive blue prints. 

After dissecting all the match ups, we can say that these two teams really had a lot of talents. It is hard to predict who's gonna be the 2011 NBA Champs. The Heat may had the Big Three, but Dirk's Dallas Mavericks has a better support cast. Who'll gonna win? Nobody knows. But for me based on what was stated a while ago, but it is arguable, if Spoelstra sticks to that 8 man rotation, I think Dallas would win in 7 games due to player fatigue. But if the Heat continues to exhibit their defensive prowess, they could reverse that situation and win this in 7 games.

But who knows? All we know is that this will be an epic series. 2011 NBA Finals. HEAT vs MAVERICKS. Brace yourselves.

Ken Aldren Usman

http://osamabinaldren.blogspot.com/