June 7, 2006

A Championship of Firsts

Not since 1971 has the NBA had two-first time teams playing for it’s championship… not only that, both teams during the course of their franchise history have endured ownership changes, numerous coaches, blockbuster trades, draft flops and years of being known as two of the worst teams in the NBA.

Those days are history as current ownership committed to make their franchises the best that they could be, and now the end result of getting those puzzle pieces and matching them together has finally emerged for both the Mavericks and Heat.  Those years of hardcourt struggles have now taken these two teams to the promised land… the NBA Finals.

Both the Heat and Mavericks have had some heartbreaking playoff failures in recent years where they had good regular seasons but would fail miserably in the playoffs. They’ve come close before, but never have they gone to where they are right now.  In 1988 and 2003 the Mavs reached the Conference finals, ironically it was Pat Reilly’s Lakers that kept the Mavs from reaching the Finals in 1988 – a Lakers team rich in talent with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabber. The Heat made it as far as the Eastern Conference finals two other times, losing to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1997 and last season against the Pistons, losing in seven.

The Heat lost both of its regular-season games to the Mavericks. They lost 103-90 Nov. 25^th at American Airlines Arena in a game O’Neal missed with an ankle injury. Then fell 112-76 on Feb. 9^th in Dallas, its most lopsided loss of the season.

Like the Heat, Dallas will be making its first appearance in the Finals. The matchup will feature the scoring talents of the Heat's O'Neal, Wade and Antoine Walker and the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Howard and Josh Terry. Like the Heat, Dallas features a deep bench, capable of playing a variety of offensive styles.

The Heat is a great team. Shaq alone has more finals experience than both rosters. Pat Riley has probably coached more playoffs games than both rosters. It wont matter. Its going to be a war.

Position Analysis…

Jason Terry is the only constant in the Mav’s backcourt, while the Heat have not only Dwayne Wade, but Jason Williams as well.  In addition, Gary Payton and Derek Anderson provides steady play off the bench.

Up front, the Mav’s have one of the leading scorers, rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA in Dirk Nowitzki… Meanwhile, the Heat counter with Shaquille O’Neal who can still dominate a game at any time and in any way.  It’s the Heat that have the depth… Josh Howard has provided solid play at the small forward for the Mav’s and he can score when asked.  Udonis Haslem gets the majority of the minutes at power forward, while Antoine Walker and James Posey have split time at the small forward with Michael Doleac.

Erick Dampier and DeSagana Diop share time at centre, but neither is called upon to do much other than defend and rebound, while Jerry Stackhouse is instant offence off the bench at small forward for Dallas. Wayne Simien, Shandon Anderson and Jason Kapono all contribute off the bench for Miami.

Player versus Player Matchup…

Center: DeSagana Diop versus Shaquille O’Neal.

A bust in Cleveland after being taken with the eighth pick in the 2001 draft, Diop has filled his role well in Dallas by providing the Mavericks with rebounding and shot-blocking. His presence in the middle helped slow Phoenix’s infiltration in the Western Conference semifinals. But now he gets the ultimate test in O’Neal, a three-time finals MVP who is shooting 61 per cent in this post-season. Erick Dampier will get plenty of minutes for Dallas as well. Edge: Heat

Power Forward:

Dirk Nowitzki versus Udonis Haslem.

Nowitzki now seems to have no weaknesses in his offensive game. He can hit a three-pointer on one possession and score on the blocks the next. If Haslem plays him, he’ll surely try to be physical with Nowitzki. But Nowitzki could then just play away from the basket, which would also weaken the Heat because Haslem is a good rebounder they want near the rim. Edge: Mavericks

Small Forward:

Josh Howard versus Antoine Walker.

A great defensive player who will probably spend a good amount of time on Dwyane Wade, Howard’s offensive game has also become a key for the Mavs. They are 25-0 this season when he scores 20 or more points. Walker has had a good post-season as Miami’s No. 3 scoring option behind Wade and O’Neal, showing a willingness to go inside instead of settling only for three-pointers. Edge: Miami

Shooting Guard:

Adrian Griffin versus Dwayne Wade.

Wade is right there with Nowitzki as the two best players in this post-season. Dallas could put Griffin back into the starting lineup for his defence, and Howard will likely get plenty of chances to defend Wade, too. Edge: Heat

Point Guard:

Jason Terry versus Jason Williams.

Devin Harris has been getting the starts at the point for the Mavs since early in the second round, but they may move Terry back there now. Wherever he plays, he’s an excellent outside shooter and the Mavs’ second-leading scorer. Williams isn’t the scorer, but the Heat don’t need him to be with Wade in the backcourt. Edge: Miami

Bench:

Jerry Stackhouse, Dampier, Harris, Keith Van Horn, Marquis Daniels versus Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning and James Posey. Miami’s bench made a huge difference against New Jersey and Detroit. Dallas, like Miami, have a deep and balanced bench, they’re able to turn to Stackhouse for scoring, Harris to quicken the tempo, and Dampier to play O’Neal. Edge: Mavericks

Coaches:

Avery Johnson versus Pat Riley.

Riley put this team together, put himself in charge of coaching it, and has it peaking at exactly the right time. He remains one of the best there is at motivating players and has a wealth of experience in the finals. Johnson was coach of the year in his first full season, and has shown why he was such a good choice during the playoffs by constantly making the right adjustments. He went smaller and quicker to beat the Spurs, then figured out how to slow the Suns. Edge: Miami

End Result… 

Miami in Seven