Mavericks vs. Heat: Why Miami Will Expose Dallas as Title Pretender

When the Mavericks and the Heat meet in Miami on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, the outcome won't be in Dallas' favor the way it was in June.

The first-place Heat have lost two straight, but all they need is a reminder of last year's disappointment to get rolling once again, just like they did on Christmas Day. In fact, the anticipation is so high that LeBron James won't miss the matchup, despite a dislocated left ring finger.

The last time these two teams faced each other, on Opening Day on December 25, the Mavericks hoisted their championship banner to the rafters before enduring a 105-94 beating at the hands of the Heat—and the Miami team the Mavericks will face on Thursday night is much more similar to the one that slaughtered them a few months ago than the one they beat in the NBA Finals.

The Heat, leaders atop the Southeast Division at 35-13, are not the team that struggled at the outset of the season to establish an identity despite too many superstars with too many big egos.

This year, the Heat started off the season 8-1 and, aside from occasional back-to-back losses that seem to plague them, have strung together enough wins to sit in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Miami enters Thursday's matchup on the heels of a two-game winning streak, and if this season's history is any indication, the Heat won't lose a third straight. They have only lost more than two consecutive games once this season, and it was way back in January.

Dwyane Wade is heating up for Miami at the perfect time, sinking a season-high four three-pointers against the Pacers on Monday night and averaging 24.8 points per game over his last nine.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, have been plagued by inconsistencies for the majority of the season.

After starting out 1-4, they managed to improve to 20-11 by mid-February but have recently been unable to eliminate those problematic losing streaks for good. Since February 19, the Mavericks have gone 9-11, and on the road, they are 10-14, which doesn't bode well for their visit to American Airlines Arena.

Dallas enters Thursday's game on the heels of back-to-back wins against Houston, sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

This game against Miami will be a pivotal one for the Mavericks: They will either sustain hope for a little bit longer that they can make another title run, or they'll fall against a team that could very well be back there this June, adding another L to a season of mediocrity. 

Unless Wade messes up his finger, too, it's likely to be the latter. Even without a fully healthy LeBron, the Heat will be too much for the skidding Mavericks to handle.