NBA Finals 2011: 4 Flaws Dallas Mavericks Exposed Against Miami Heat in Game 2
Last night, in a comeback that can only be described as miraculous, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 95-93 in Game 2 to even the 2011 NBA Finals at one game apiece.
Playing with a torn finger tendon, Dirk Nowitzki finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. With 3.6 seconds to go, he made the game-winning layup, and Mavs' fans roared nationwide.
Overall, it was a great game to watch considering how at one point, Dallas trailed by 15. LeBron James and the rest of the Big Three controlled the game for much of the second half, only to squander their lead and let the Mavs' better flow and team play result in a Dallas win.
I've been saying from the start of the playoffs that while the Heat may look good on paper, they really aren't the best team in the NBA by a long shot. Here are four weaknesses exposed by the Mavericks last night which prove just that.
No. 4: Lack of Defense
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I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.
Last night, Miami started Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony, two men who have been known to be great on defense when called upon. Yet, despite eight rebounds, Bosh looked so lost on D, just like he has going back to the first game of the regular season.
It should also be noted that while Dallas committed 18 turnovers compared to Miami's 12, the Heat were outrebounded 41-30.
I'm going to be blunt now. Bosh is a player capable of averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, so why did his defensive game seemingly disappear once he came to Miami?
Long story short, the Heat really need to step it up on defense if they want to win that prized championship trophy. The Big Three are all great players, but their efforts mean nothing without solid defense to back up that electrifying scoring.
No. 3: Lack of Continuity/One-Sided Offense
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While watching the game last night, I noticed something about the Heat.
On offense, the team is basically a two-trick pony. They either make a three-point shot that wakes up the crowd and (hopefully) makes the opposition lose confidence, or they drive inside with either a pretty layup or an opposition-silencing dunk.
Basically, there is no team play whatsoever.
Don't believe it? Well, looking at the box score might change opinions.
Last night, in four quarters of basketball, the Miami Heat only had a total of 13 assists compared to the 18 dished out by the Dallas Mavericks.
The lack of continuity on offense was truly exposed in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Miami's lead kept shrinking and shrinking, and instead of driving to the basket and trying to draw fouls, players like James and Wade kept chucking up threes with hopes the ball would go in and that the Mavs' confidence would be shot.
This method failed as the Mavericks came back to win on good old-fashioned basketball, utilizing all their options on offense rather than having one player carry the team on his back the entire game.
No. 2: Lack of Depth
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Last night, both the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat each had 12 players in uniform. Of those 12, Dallas used 10.
Want to know how many the Heat used? I'll tell you now—a whopping eight.
In the Mavs' case, the two players who sat, Corey Brewer and Ian Mahinmi, have essentially been non-factors in the postseason, and not using them wouldn't be something Rick Carlisle loses any sleep over.
On the other hand, Miami had some incredibly talented players riding the pine last night, and one can only wonder if using some of them would have resulted in a different final score.
Here are the players Miami could have played last night—but didn't: Juwan Howard, Erick Dampier, Eddie House and James Jones.
In all fairness, James Jones sat because of a toe injury. However, those three other players easily could have contributed. Howard and Dampier are both big bodies capable of being dominating presences in the middle. Also, last I checked, Eddie House has a reputation as being one of the best three-point shooters off the bench in the entire NBA.
Had Erik Spoelstra not let himself be the puppet of the Big Three and actually used his reserves, Miami's lack of depth would not have been exposed in Game 2. For all we know, a big block by Dampier or Howard or a couple of three-pointers from House could have proved to be the difference in the game.
No. 1: Cockiness
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The fact is that when push came to shove last night, the Miami Heats' strategy was its own worst enemy.
Coach Spoelstra seems to think they key to victory is to overwhelm the other team with James, Bosh and Wade then capitalize on their deflated confidence. At one point during the game, that strategy seemed to work as the Heat went on run after run before they were suddenly up by 15.
At that point, it all unraveled as the three weaknesses previously mentioned all combined to form the worst weakness any basketball team can have: cockiness.
I've said it before and I'll say it again now. Basketball is a team game where every player needs to be utilized, not a game where you have three of the biggest egos in the league on one squad and let them do their own thing on the court. Last I checked, that was streetball.
To overcome this weakness, only one thing has to be done.
The Big Three need to drop their sense of entitlement and come to terms with the fact they're going to have to earn those championship rings instead of have them handed to them on a silver platter.
As fun as this game seems, boys, it's still your job, and you've got to do the work if you want to win it all.
Otherwise, those five years you all agreed to play in Miami are going to go by very slowly.
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