NBA Finals Preview

So the NBA Finals are upon us once again and it'll be the Dallas Mavericks taking on the Miami Heat in a rematch of the 2006 Finals in which the Mavs lost after leading the series 2-0. Since that time both teams have had their own relative struggles, especially the Heat who were reduced to a lottery team and endured a 15 win season. The Mavs on the other hand have had great regular season success, but have had several early playoff exists despite always remaining amongst the elite in the West. It almost seems fitting that when these two teams did return to the Finals they would be facing each other once more.

Also different from that last meeting a few years ago is the makeups of the teams. The Mavs now have Jason Kidd running the point, and have added Tyson Chandler who has become their defensive anchor, Peja Stojakovic who has shown flashes of his Sacramento days and several others. They also have Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry who have remained key pieces for this team and were also members on the 2006 Finals team. The Heat as we all know have gone through a major change and have added two other all-stars in Lebron James and Chris Bosh to the team. Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are the only two members remaining from the 2006 championship team. Though their bench is nowhere close to being a strong as the Mavs bench, the recent emergence of Mike Miller, Haslem, who has missed most of the season, and Mario Chalmers could prove to be quite beneficial to the Heats success.

The Mavs have beaten the Heat in both match-ups this season, but as the Heat have shown regular season records don't mean a thing in the playoffs as they went on to beat the Celtics and the Bulls who had won the regular season series against the Heat as well. In their long quest to reach the Finals we have seen just spectacular performances from the teams' stars. Dirk Nowitzki has been just amazing averaging 28.4 points in the playoffs, while shooting the lights out from the floor (51.7% from the field, 51.6% from three and 92.9% from the FT line), Jason Kidd has been as efficient as he always has been and Chandler, Barea and Terry have played astonishingly. On the Heat's side of things, Lebron has been playing out of his mind in the clutch, Bosh has stepped up to silence his critics and Wade continues to be tough for opposing defenses even if he did struggle in that series against the Bulls. So in this colossal matchup of the all-stars which team will emerge victorious?

Key to the Series:

Ryan: Defense. Both these teams got to this position because of their focus on defense, and in the end the team with the best defensive efficiency will emerge as the 2011 NBA Champs. If the Heat can somehow find a way to shutdown Dirk and the Mavs perimeter players, this series will most likely do their way. For the Mavs they will have to prevent the Big 3 from taking over and getting open look. The Heat's bench isn't that deep so if they can keep the Big 3 in check they may be able to win the franchise's 1st championship.

Chris: Neither offense or defense will be the key to the series, but who controls the floor. Both of these teams have very different styles of play. The Heat for example like to run and play a fast paced game, they also like to mix in the 3 point shot. Where as the Mavs play a slower paced game, where they can control the flow and tempo of each possession and take their time to get the shot they want. Due to the extreme difference in play styles this will come down to strategy. Who can force their opponent to exit their comfort zone and play the other teams style. I believe the team that does this best will end up being crowned the Champions.

Key Player:

Ryan: Dwyane Wade. Wade didn't quiet look like himself offensively in the last series against the Bulls, and it has been said that he's fighting through an injury. If the Heat plan to win their 2nd title in franchise history they would need Wade to be more efficient offensively.

Chris: For the Heat: Chris Bosh - Despite a huge post season so far Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are still considered the front runners to get the ball, if Bosh can be on his game this could throw the Mavericks off and put more pressure on the defense.
           For the Mavs: Dirk Nowitzki - This seems like the obvious choice right? Well it is. Dirk has arguably been the playoff MVP so far and if he continues to be able to shoot over defenders, there is very little the South Beach Heat will be able to do. He can also be a strong presence inside and force the Heat to make more shots and play some clutch offense.

Prediction:

Ryan: Heat in 6.

Chris: Mavs in 6

Both teams have fought extremely hard to get to this position and they won't go down without a fight and that alone guarantees that this will be a great Finals matchup. The Mavs will also be motivated to not lose in the Finals to the same team twice while the Heat will be looking to show their haters that at the end of the day, three superstars can co-exist and win a championship together. So what would we see in a few weeks, will Dirk and Kidd finally get their 1st ring or will there be another celebration in South Beach?