Barring a meltdown of the Heatles, looks like the Finals will be an instant replay of Dallas Mavs vs Miami Heat.
Season Series:
Dallas won the season series 2-0. The games were in November and December. The Dallas win in December snapped the Heat's 12 game win streak at the time were they first started to put everything together. That was also the stretch in which Dallas looked like they do right now, the best team in the West by winning 17 out of 18 games.
Matchups:
PG - Obviously Dallas has the advantage and Jason Kidd wins this matchup hands down. Kidd is the ultimate floor general, sneaky good defender, and somehow 3pt specialist. Miami is working with the by committee approach of Chalmers/Bibby. Coach Spo doesnt seem to want to give Chalmers the green light for some reason. Maybe Chalmers owes him money for a poker game or something but he should be starting right now. Bibby should be in spot duty.
SG - Advantage Heat. DWade should get back on track vs Deshawn "Diamonds in my Damn Chain" Stevenson. Elephant in the room - Until OT vs Bulls in last game, Wade has been lightweight..... terrible. I can see the Bulls have people that can guard Wade pretty good but Wade is taking a backseat to LeBron right now.
SF - Advantage Heat. Besides from the next guy on this list, who is playing the best basketball right now? LeBron has picked it up defensively and offensively since the Boston series and looks unstoppable right now. If he only stops saying he doesn't want to play PG, then he would settle into that role perfectly. Marion will have his hands full but will make things tough on LeBron.
PF - Dirk Diggler is showing you White Men Can't Jump, but they can shoot the J. Dirk has been enfuego the last 2 weeks. He is almost impossible to guard. If I were the Heat, I would give Dirk a heavy dosage of LeBron and Haslem.
C - Can I list Bosh as Center? Miami is not going to play Big Z, Anthony, or any other DLeague caliber player from here on out right? I see the Heat going with a variation of Wade/LBJ/Miller/Bosh/Haslem or Chalmers from here on out. Isn't that there best lineup? If so, Advantage Bosh. Tyson Chandler is no Joakim Noah but he blocks shots. I see him in foul trouble for most of the series. Bosh has been playing with a candle under his ass (no homo) and rightfully so. If he has the 15 ft jumper going, look out.
Bench - Dallas. People keep saying how deep Dallas bench is, they have Jason "I only show up every other game" Terry, Peja "This is why i'm hot" Stokajvic, and JJ "Dynomite" Barea. Can someone tell me how JJ Barea is making these guys look bad? Is it because he is shorter and slower than every other guard in the league that they are not used to that change of pace? If White Mike Miller, Haslem, Anthony, and White Mike Bibby show up half the time, I really see the bench as a wash, slight advantage Dallas. The problem is that none of those names on Dallas can play defense.
Who's Hot:
Nobody is hotter than LeBron and Dirk right now. They are sharing the co-mvp award right now. Since Dirk is the more consistent scorer, I figure he will stay on fire. If Dallas keeps all of there 3pt shooters on floor (Kidd/Terry/Peja/Dirk/Chandler lineup), the games will be in the 120's easily. As for LeBron, he has to eat Mark Cubans kids the first few games. Heat have a chance to take care of home first, before heading to Jerry's World.
Who's Not:
The missing link in this series for the Mavs is the services of one Mr. Tough Juice. Racine's finest Caron Butler has been out and will miss this series. He was the one guy that can guard LeBron and Wade effectively. Marion will do a feasible job but he doesn't have the offensive firepower of Butler either.
X-Factor:
Dallas - If the 3pt shot is falling for the Mavs, it is going to be a tough stretch for the Heat. The games they lost this playoffs mostly included teams getting hot from behind the arc.
Miami Losses - Philly 8-18 3s, Boston 9-18 3s, Bulls 10-21 3s. There style of defense is a scramble switching, often lose track of their assignment, which leads to open kick out 3s and losing the rebound game. Miami has tried to correct that after each loss.
Miami - If the tempo is good and the ball is moving, Miami wins. The Heat have a tendency to play pick up ball, meaning, here is the ball, your turn to make a move. The ball sticks in someone's hand and the defense is able to shut down the one-on-one moves easier. Movement, running, and swinging the ball as simple as it sounds, is the key to Miami's success. Having 3 players that can get hot doesn't hurt either.
Who Wins:
History repeats itself. Heat in 6. Maybe they will shoot the next video for the DJ Khaled remix to "All I Do is Win" at KOD.
A Little Revisionist History:
How my pre-season predictions played out in NBA?
Pre-season MVP - Split MVP between Durant and the new forgotten star, Kobe. It can't be DWade or LeBron unless they split the award and that wont happen unless they win 75 games. Durant, aka Dookie from the Wire, has the image the NBA wants right now. I think this will be the last hooray for Kobe. The Lakers will more than likely have the best record in the West and Kobe being the best player on the team....well you see where I'm going.
Reality: Derrick Rose took the LeBron James Do It Yourself Award by leading the Bulls to a league best 62-20 record. After watching them in the playoffs, you walk away with 2 conclusions: Did Rose wear himself out carrying the Bulls all year? and Who are they going to sign to give him some help on offense?
Pre-season Defensive POY - LeBron James - He has everything to prove. Remember he was 2nd to Howard last year. Playing in an uptempo style where he can be the rover....look the F@()k out. Sleeper - Serge Ibaka, OKC. I know most people have never heard of him, but this cat is legit. Will probably lead the league in blocks.
Reality: Dwight Howard ran away with this award again. Surprisely, he should have been considered for most times looking at his teammates with the "I cant believe I play with you bums" face. Hello LA.
Pre-season Best Wing Man - Delonte West. Not on the court but wouldn't you love to go out hanging with Delonte as long as he took his medicine? You never know if you gonna end up at some
over 40 club or in the streets, but you know you gonna have some stories to tell.
Reality: This should be renamed to the MILF Hunter and Delonte would be the GOAT.
Pre-season Rookie of Year - John Wall for one simple reason, Blake Griffin is gonna get hurt. He jumps around like he just realized he has legs. Wall is gonna lead the Wiz to the playoffs, not a drastic feat since it will only be about 35 wins. If Blake doesn't get hurt and Baron Davis shows up to work, Blake could get it done. Check the video for highlights 5 and 7.
Reality: Blake managed to stay healthy while delivering the most overrated Dunk Contest finale in league history. After he leaves the Clippers in 2 years, I wonder if he would go back to OKC and make a younger big three with Durant and Westbrook.
Pre-season Sixth Man - JJ Redick - He will get more looks this year. He is a dead eye shooter and surprisely, he has gotten better every year.
Reality: Lamar Khardasian-Odom won, but should he even be eligible? He is a starter right?
Pre-season Most Improved - Darren Collison. He almost made people forget about Chris Paul in New Orleans for a minute.
Reality: Ok. Ok. I was reaching. Kevin Love wins after he went streaking with double doubles.
Pre-season Biggest Surprise - Gilbert Arenas - he doesn't have to handle the ball anymore. Agent Zero gets to play off the ball with Wall running through opposing defenders in the lane. Is there a scarier image than Arenas running trailer on a Wall fast break to the 3pt line?
Reality: Arenas was surprised. He was traded to a better team, with a franchise player, where he was able to come off the bench and just shoot. Perfect situation right???? It would be if he could buy some new knees with all that money. Agent Zero showed flashes, but he still hasnt recovered. Pre-season Not So Surprising - Greg Oden gets hurt. Melo gets traded. Tim Duncan retires.
Reality: Check.
Pre-season First Team - Howard, Dookie, LeBron, Wade, Kobe
Reality: Swap Wade with DRose MVP. Nobody honestly saw Rose make that leap did they? Cmon...be for real.
Pre-season Second Team - Amare, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Carmelo
Reality: Ouch. No Joe, DWill or Melo. Dirk and Westbrook. Yes that same Westbrook.
Pre-season Third Team - Al Jefferson, Chris Paul, Monta Ellis, Bosh, Rose.
Reality: At least I got CP3. Aldridge, ZBo, Horford and Ginobili. Manu should gotten Comeback POY if there is such an award. And what can I say about ZBo....dominated and retired the Spurs in the Playoffs.
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