NBA Finals 2011: Immaturity Plagues Miami Heat in Loss to Dallas Mavericks

Back in July of 2010, the Miami Heat hosted a rally similar to that of a championship celebration for a team that had just won an NBA title.

But, the Heat’s “Big Three” had not won anything.

Call it ignorant, call it exciting, call it a jinx. I’ll call it a false prophecy.

When the freshest face on South Beach, LeBron James, was asked how many championships the Heat will win, he responded with, “Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…”

Dwyane Wade chuckled in embarrassment at these comments. Only he knew that these immature comments may come back to bite them in the end.

But, just a mere eight months later, James’ immaturity rubbed off on the 2006 NBA Champion Wade.

James and Wade pretended to be sick, joking during a shootaround the day after the Heat lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki, who had a 102-degree fever.

It was this immaturity that plagued the Heat in their NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

In Game 2, the Dallas Mavericks were able to avenge a 15-point deficit with just over seven minutes to go with a 20-2 run to close out the game. Immaturity kept the Heat from going up two games to none and putting Dallas in a serious hole.

In the decisive Game 6, a skirmish broke out after the Mavericks were forced to call a timeout to calm a Heat run. Veteran Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers rushed into the skirmish and drew technical fouls, effectively destroying the Heat’s momentum and sparking a Dallas run to a halftime lead. Immaturity killed the Miami Heat.

Turnovers, a lack of a presence on the defensive boards and bad shot selection beleaguered the Heat in the fourth quarter of their Game 6 loss. Wade scored just four points in the fourth, and the much talked about struggles of James in the final quarters continued as he looked quite passive, scoring just seven points.

As Jason Kidd sank two free throws to finish off the Heat with under 20 seconds left, Dirk Nowitzki rejoiced with his first NBA championship with a clutch 10 points in the fourth quarter and 18 of his 21 points in the second half.

Dirk walked off the court with tears in his eyes, James with emptiness in his heart.

Congratulate the Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki on a hard-earned championship, but Miami’s inability to maintain composure and maturity beset them in their quest for the 2011 NBA Championship.

Josh Rosenblat is a high school student from Chicago looking to find a way to break into sports journalism. He often writes about the NBA (primarily the Chicago Bulls), as well as the MLB, college basketball, Tennis and the NFL. You can email him at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @JMRosenblat. Feel free to send him comments.

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