The Heat Is On!

1

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is in the books. The Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks, 92-84. The game was close until the Heat, at home, were able to put some space between themselves and the Mavericks. Dwyane Wade (22 pts, 10 rebs, 6 asst) was very solid, especially in the 4th quarter. LeBron James (24 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asst) was his usual, dominant self, with some coffin-nailing dunks late in the game. Chris Bosh chipped in with 19 points.

In de face! 2

WHAT WE DO KNOW AND WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

Game 1 told us absolutely nothing that we do not know already. Three of the four best players in the series are on one team: the Heat. Miami won a game at home with those three players delivering when called upon. Dallas, an excellent team in its own right, played well but could not contain all three of Miami’s big weapons down the stretch. Dirk Nowitzki (27 pts, 8 rebs) is going to get his shots, but The King is a man on a mission.

What DO we know? Game 2 is Thursday night in Miami. Falling into an 0-2 hole in a best of seven series is often an omen of doom, though slightly less of an omen if those losses are on the road and the games are close. Miami has not lost at home during the playoffs during the entire 2011 postseason. At the same time, until last night, Dallas never trailed in a series during the postseason.


THE SMOKE FROM THE OPENING SALVO TELLS US?

I am not ready to write the Mavericks off, after one competitive game, in this series. However, after watching the matchups, I do think the Mavericks’ margin for error is extremely slim. The Mavericks are probably going to need 30+ points from Dirk, in addition to the normal contribution from the other Mavericks players, in order to beat the Heat.

One game does not dictate an entire series, but it does set the tone for the following game, and POSSIBLY the entire series. It also gives the viewer a landscape of the different battles to be fought during a series. Unless the Mavericks can bring their already small number of mistakes down even lower and Nowitzki can rise above the pack, as he did multiple times in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Heat may be a few days away from hoisting the championship trophy in the presence of the Dallas Mavericks, for the second time in five years.

Dirk is going to need a little more help and a little more Dirk. 3

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1, 2, 3) Images from espn.com