NBA Finals 2011: Should LeBron James Cover Dirk Nowitzki in Heat vs Mavs Series?
In just a few hours, the NBA Finals will begin.
In a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks will take on the Miami Heat. That year, Miami won it in six games after dropping the first two to Dallas.
This year, however, both teams are different, especially the Mavericks.
That year, the offense was focused primarily on Dirk Nowitzki, with Josh Howard and Jason Terry helping as well. Today, Nowitzki and Terry have a lot more help on the court in Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. Josh Howard is a member of the Washington Wizards and has essentially not played at all the past two seasons because of knee problems.
In 2006, the Heat were led by veteran center Shaquille O'Neal and hotshot guard Dwyane Wade. The latter is still in Miami, but with much more help. This time, he has both LeBron James and Chris Bosh helping him out.
Needless to say, it should make a great finals and since we're on the subject, Mavs in seven.
Yet, if Miami does want to defeat Dallas and take home the trophy, the strategy is simple: Dirk Nowitzki MUST be contained.
This won't be at all easy, given how the seven-footer averaged 23 points and seven rebounds during the regular season, making 51 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his three-pointers.
Long story short, Nowitzki is a threat on any part of the hardwood and will be hard to defend.
Some people seem to think that LeBron James would be the best man to guard him, but I'm not entirely convinced. Keep in mind, as I just said, Dirk Nowitzki is a threat on any part of the court. He is effective at both long-range shooting and driving to the basket to draw fouls.
Like Nowitzki, James is deadly from any spot on the court. He averaged 26.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and seven assists per game during the regular season, and those numbers have followed him to the playoffs.
Nowitzki, on the other hand, has seen different numbers in the postseason.
Thus far, Nowitzki has averaged 28 points per game in the playoffs and has made an incredible 51 percent of his three-pointers. Also, let's not forget that he is 7'0", much taller than the 6'8" James.
That being said, given the nature of Nowitzki's game, Miami should put a much bigger body on him to neutralize his abilities.
For example, given Chris Bosh's nature as a flopper (come on, Miami fans, you know it's true), he would be a good choice to guard Nowitzki when the big German drives to the basket from the perimeter. He's 6'11", so he is a better matchup with Nowitzki based on size alone.
Similarly, Joel Anthony is also a good option for guarding Nowitzki. He is only 6'9", but is a great inside presence and his physicality could prevent Nowitzki from scoring effectively.
Thus, LeBron James should not cover Dirk Nowitzki in the NBA Finals. Rather, he should guard someone like Shawn Marion, who is effective both inside and on the perimeter, not to mention a defensive threat with nearly seven boards per game.
Instead, Miami's defensive strategy should be to double team Nowitzki with two bigger bodies and hope that Dallas's guards are forced to take some bad shots.
Otherwise, Dallas just might get its revenge and the ghosts of the 2006 NBA Finals might be gone for good.
