I’m no prophet, but at least, as of my latest NBA blog, I did say that the Dallas Mavericks can take two of the three games at home (American Airlines Center). And the Mavs did just that, grabbing Games 4 & 5 to go up in their Finals series against the supposed highly-favored Miami Heat, 3-2.
On Monday morning (Manila time), the Mavericks are looking forward to completing a mission they failed to
accomplish during the 2006 NBA Finals — beat the Heat. Of course, in 2006, the Mavs zoomed in to a commanding 2-0 series lead, only to find the Heat melt Dallas’ confidence with their defense and the hot-shooting of Dwayne Wade, enabling Miami to win its first-ever NBA crown in the process in six games.
But this time, things are completely different. Gone were the previous Dallas players, who wore the Mavs uniform in 2006. The only remnants of that failed batch were Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.
And thus far, the two battle-scarred NBA veterans were the biggest thorns on the Miami side.
Lebron James, criticized for his “disappearing” act in Game 5, after finishing with just 17 points, tweeted that Game 6 would be “now or never” (maybe a make-or-break for him and his partners in the so-called Miami “Big Three”).
One loss and Miami’s pre-season hype of winning not just one, two, three, four or more NBA championships would have started on the wrong foot.
As I’ve said in my blog before the Finals series began, Dallas’ three-point shooting will play a huge factor in its quest for its very first NBA title. The Mavs shot an impeccable 13-of-19 from beyond the arc for 68 percent, a shooting display punctuated by Terry’s three-bomb in the face of James that turned the tide versus the Heat.
Now, with the Heat one foot away from the grave, Nowitzki and Terry along with the rest of the Mavs only need to duplicate their amazing shooting effort against Miami — a move that can officially seal Miami’s fate in the 2011 season.
Some say Miami can still bounce back, much like the Loa Angeles Lakers did in last year’s Finals against the Boston Celtics. But will the Heat really rise to the challenge?
Photo Source: http://cdn1.newsone.com/files/2011/05/nba-finals-2011-dirk-vs-lebron-310×186.jpg