NBA Finals 2011: 10 Burning Questions Facing Dallas Mavericks Against Miami Heat
As the NBA postseason nears its end, the teams meeting in the NBA Finals are not those that the average fan would have expected to see there.
The Miami Heat were expected to achieve greatness with the kind of team they put together in the offseason, but many critics had the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics over them because of time adjustments necessary to gel a team together.
On the other hand, nobody, and absolutely nobody expected the Mavericks to be competing again in the finals.
There are plenty of questions around the Mavericks in terms of how this series will play out. Here are the top 10 burning questions the Mavericks will be facing as they take the court tonight against the Miami Heat.
Are the Mavericks Still the Underdogs in This Series?
1 of 10
Yes.
As the third seed in the first round, many considered them the lesser team.
In the second round, against the Lakers, they were clearly considered inferior by almost everyone.
Against the young OKC Thunder in the Western Conference finals, the Mavericks were expected to get worn out and lose.
The Mavericks proved all the critics wrong, and as the underdog team, they beat everyone they faced. Now they face the Miami Heat with the underdog label once again on them.
Good thing they really do not care.
How Will the Mavericks Set Up Defensively?
2 of 10
The Mavericks are arguably one of the, if not the best zone-defending team in the league.
With Tyson Chandler providing tough defense against anyone that manages to get in the lane and strong wing defenders in Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson, the Mavericks defense is quiet good.
Then there are the savvy veterans that manage to make strong plays on the defensive end like Jason Kidd, Brendan Haywood and even Caron Butler, if he comes back.
Against a team with superstars like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, the Mavericks will likely mix up their defense quiet a bit but end up falling back to zone defense for most of the game.
Against LeBron and Wade, neither of which are huge long-range threats, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Will Caron Butler Be Back and Effective?
3 of 10
Caron Butler wants to play. He is officially listed as day-to-day.
Chances are, coach Rick Carlisle will hold out on Butler not only due to health concerns, but also for lineup consistency.
With LeBron and Wade on the floor, there is a chance foul trouble will plague the Mavericks guards and swingmen. If this happens and Deshawn Stevenson, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea and Shawn Marion’s minutes are limited, Butler might make his first appearance in a Mavericks uniform since February.
He will not be as effective as he was during the start of the season, but he will at least be another body to muscle up against Wade and James.
Is Dwyane Wade Back to Full Strength?
4 of 10
According to Dwyane Wade himself, he is not hurt and will play at full strength. Reports about Wade being held out of contact practice suggested he might be nursing some lingering injuries, but those conversations have died.
Wade is expected to come back full throttle, something the Mavericks should be planning for anyway.
Will the Three-Ball Keep Falling for the Mavericks?
5 of 10
The Miami Heat are an excellent defensive team on the perimeter. The Mavericks have done their most damage from the outside in the postseason, and that might have to change a little in this series.
Even with outstanding defense, the Mavericks will still get their share of open looks because of their excellent ball movement. Someway, somehow, the ball will find its way to an open Jason Terry or Peja Stojakovic behind the arc a few times per game.
Then, there is nothing that would suggest that the ball won’t have a very high chance of going in, again.
Will the Mavericks Contain LeBron James Like They Did Kevin Durant?
6 of 10
LeBron James is the best basketball player in the planet. He is a superb scorer and lately has been getting as much praise for his defense.
Kevin Durant is superior to James in terms of scoring. So if the Mavericks were able to slow Durant down, they should be able to do a decent job on James.
The only difference is LeBron James can hurt you in more ways that just scoring the basketball.
Will Dirk Nowitzki Face Past Demons Matching Up Against Udonis Haslem?
7 of 10
Udonis Haslem got plenty of praise in 2006 for giving Dirk Nowitzki trouble with his defense. He will get another shot at defending the Big German in this series.
Haslem is not the player he was in 2006, mainly due to the fact that he just came back from a serious injury. But that is not the biggest difference.
The biggest difference is Dirk Nowitzki is not the same guy, either.
In five years, Dirk has further mastered the fall-away jump shot, added a one-legged fadeaway and learned to spin of defenders to attack the rim for a dunk or layup.
All anybody can tell Haslem (or any Heat player that ends up guarding Dirk) is, "Good luck."
Will the Mavericks' Bench Produce at the Same Pace?
8 of 10
This is as easy of a question as one could ask.
The answer is absolutely yes.
The Miami Heat’s bench is nowhere near that of the Mavericks. They lack defenders, solid big men and, outside of Mike Miller, they lack playmakers.
It is a given that the Mavericks bench will severely outplay that of the Heat. J.J. Barea, Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Haywood will have the Miami starters playing over 40 minutes per game.
Is the Mavericks' Size Truly an Advantage?
9 of 10
This is where it gets interesting.
On paper, anybody would say Dallas will absolutely own Miami down low. But that is an incomplete answer to this question.
True, in terms of size, Dallas does have a big advantage, but what does that mean? Dirk’s size is an advantage anywhere regardless of how big is the other team. Brendan Haywood and Tyson Chandler can definitely hurt you defensively, but they are not a big threat to post-up and score inside.
Dallas' size will be a strong advantage defensively and in rebounding, but in terms of scoring, it will make little to no difference.
That being said, there is an advantage, but it is far less that what people might believe.
Are the Referees Going to Screw the Mavericks over Again?
10 of 10
The Mavericks lost the NBA Finals in 2006 mainly due to the referees. Foul calls were not consistent at all and Miami got a clear advantage in terms of officiating.
Sadly, this is all a product of what is called “All-Star treatment.”
It is a sad, but true phenomenon. Highly known and marketable players are in fact treated better by NBA officials than your average Joe—or average Maverick.
With a team built around three superstars in Wade, LeBron and Chris Bosh, it will be interesting to see how officials handle foul calls and “All-Star treatment.”
The Mavericks have proven they can win even with this kind of disparity with their win against the Thunder in the previous round. If it happens again, will they survive this time around?
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