From the Associated Press -
A capsule look at the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, which begin Tuesday night (with playoff stats):Starters: Heat — C Joel Anthony (3.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg), F Chris Bosh (18.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.1 apg), F LeBron James (26.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 5.5 apg), G Dwyane Wade (23.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.1 apg), G Mike Bibby (3.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 apg).
Mavericks — C Tyson Chandler (7.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg), F Dirk Nowitzki (28.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.7 apg), F Shawn Marion (11.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.1 apg), G DeShawn Stevenson (3.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg), G Jason Kidd (9.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 7.7 apg, 2.2 spg).
Key reserves: Heat — G Mario Chalmers (6.1 ppg, 1.5 apg), G/F Mike Miller (2.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg), F Udonis Haslem (3.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), G James Jones (6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg), C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (3.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg), F Juwan Howard (1.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg).
Mavericks — G Jason Terry (17.3 ppg, 3.2 apg), G J.J. Barea (8.9 ppg, 3.5 apg), G/F Peja Stojakovic (8.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg), C Brendan Haywood (3.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg).
Season series: Mavericks, 2-0. Both meetings came in the first two months of the season, back when the Heat were so frustrated by their early struggles that they held a players-only meeting after a 106-95 loss in Dallas on Nov. 22 dropped them to 9-8. Dallas pulled out a 98-96 victory at Miami about a month later, ending the Heat's 12-game winning streak and beating them for the 14th straight time in the regular season. Dirk Nowitzki averaged 24 points for the Mavs, while Dwyane Wade had a pair of 22-point games for the Heat. LeBron James scored 21 per game, but shot just 5 of 19 in the first game and was scoreless in the first half of the rematch.
Story line: Less than a year after teaming up in Miami, James, Wade and Chris Bosh can win their first title together if the Heat beat the Mavericks in a rematch of the 2006 NBA finals. Miami won that series in six games behind four straight sensational performances from finals MVP Wade as Dallas collapsed after seizing a 2-0 lead.
Key matchup I: Bosh vs. Nowitzki. Nowitzki says he would have listened last summer if Wade and James recruited him to Miami. They went instead with Bosh, who endured plenty of criticism during the season but has been excellent lately. Since a six-point flop in Game 3 of the second round, he has averaged 21.4 points. Nobody is on a better roll than Nowitzki, who averaged 32.2 points in the Mavericks' five-game victory over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, with a pair of 40-point games and only two missed free throws in 61 attempts.
Key matchup II: James vs. Shawn Marion. James did a little bit of everything to help the Heat escape with a series of narrow victories over Boston and Chicago, hitting late three-pointers or making key defensive stops. His late-game defense against Derrick Rose in the East finals seemed a reminder that while Rose ended James' streak of two straight MVP awards, James remains the NBA's dominant player. Marion's resurgent play after forgettable stints in Miami and Toronto is a major reason the Mavs overcame the early season loss of Caron Butler. Athletic enough to guard multiple positions, he also has delivered some timely offensive performances, such as the 26 points he scored in the West clincher.
X-factor: Mike Miller. Dallas will use some zone defence to contain the penetration of James and Wade, so the Heat have to hit from the outside. Miller has been able to deliver off the bench lately after an injury-plagued season, with 12 points and nine rebounds in Miami's overtime victory in Game 4 of the conference finals.
Prediction: Mavericks in 7.==========================
Nice prediction.
But if it's going to reach 7 games, it's going to be tough for the Mavs to win on the road. The Mavs have to steal one of the first two games.
Looking at the lineups, the Mavs clearly have the advantage in the paint which they have to capitalize on by controlling the boards. But the key here would be how they will adjust to Miami's defense. Dallas hasn't seen a defense like this in the playoffs so far, and I think they'll be in for a shock in Game 1. Plus, who's going to guard Wade?
