For Jimbo,
Well here we are, the final two sides left in this year competition. In the blue corner you have the veterans, one of the best PG's of all time, with a crafty knack of making the right passes at the right time, taking the right shot at the right time, and being in the right place at the right time. You have one of the most effective scorers at PF of all time, easily the best shooting 7 footer in the history of the game with an unmatched range and a phenomenal high arcing shot that is impossible to guard. Then you have the rest, Marion one of the best SF defenders in the game, Chandler who is having his best season ever and a deep deep bench that can all shoot in Stojakovic, Terry and Barea. A team full of experience and killer shooters.
In the red corner you have the up starts. A team made up of three players who compliment each others brilliance, have got it together at the right time of the year and are only a possible 4 games away from making themselves even more unpopular than they are now (outside of Miami, of course). Throughout the year they had their ups and downs, but they are still standing while so many others that were supposed to beat them have fallen by the wayside. This Heat side has always been Wade's, but I think after this finals series with the leadership, maturation and assassin like clutch shooting he has shown, we can safely say it's Lebron's team. He has elevated his game in the finals series this year, which is something he hadn't done in previous years at Cleveland, maybe the pressure of knowing you're the sides only option isn't weighing down on his ample shoulders this year and he can relax and play his natural game. Wade hasn't been as effective this playoff series as he can be, so look out Mavs if he decides to turn it on. Bosh can play the bit part role, or as Chicago found out can also score when the other two are quiet. I had no idea until this series that his outside shot could be so fatal, but just ask Chicago. Outside of these three, there really is nothing to crow about form the Heat's point of view. They have had small cameo's from Halsem and Miller, Bibby and Anthony, the other two starters, are merely bodies in a Heat uniform to fill in the starting five. And it has been enough to get them this far, so I see no reason why that would change.
Lets look at some match ups.
PG
A couple of seasoned campaigners, Kidd is playing with the vigour and youthfulness of a 34 year old
. He shows no signs of slowing down, his happy knack for getting assists is still evident even this deep in his career and although losing a yard of pace, is still effective on the defensive end. Bibby on the other hand hasn't made much of an impact at Miami save for some outside shooting. He is still a big liability on defence, so I wouldn't be surprised in this series if we saw Chalmers clock up a lot more minutes to try and limit Kidd, maybe Chalmers will even start. Barea at back up provides so much more than House/Chalmers off the Heat bench and can get so much more done in short amount of time. Slight edge to Dallas in the truest form of the position, but expect to see Wade and Lebron handle a lot of the PG duties.
SF
Lebron. NEXT!!! But seriously, the guy is balling at the moment, INSANE balling. It is still possible to be a hater with admiration and respect of how he goes about his business, Im firmly in that court. Id like to see him go for the next 5 years without winning a ring, but I get the feeling in the next five years he will need a new hand to start putting the rings on. Marion is a fantastic defender and will provide good opposition for Lebron, which would mean possibly limiting his own effectiveness in offence. The back ups for Miami are non existent, Jones might get a run, maybe Miller will spend some time there, but Lebron will spend 46 of 48 minutes toying with Dallas. Mavericks will bring in Stojakovic off the bench, offensively could make a huge impact, defensively he will be there for Lebron to draw fouls out of. Clear win for Miami.
PF
This is huge. Bosh V Nowitski. I get the feeling that Nowitski will be seeing a lot of double teams in this series, Miami wont let him shoot 51% form the field the way the Thunder did, they have developed into a great swarming defensive unit. However, I still think Nowitski's range will worry them. There is no other 7 footer in the game where you have to worry about him where ever he is on the court. Anthony might patrol him under the basket and Bosh out deep, but when he shoots he hits 1 in 2, and if he misses you foul him and he nails them both. Deadly. Bosh on the other hand has shown a willingness to shoot and make, the outside shot but still not much of a presence inside. Chandler would dominate him defensively as it's pretty apparent Anthony isn't going to get many shots. But if Bosh's sole responsibility is to draw Nowitski and Chandler away from the basket to open it up for Lebron and Wade, then he will execute it perfectly. And get off a few shots in the mean time. Danger man for Dallas. Pretty even, but a slight edge for the Mavs.
Benches.
There is no denying who wins here. The Lakers and Thunder both found out that no matter who you leave open in this side, whether they are starters or bench players, they can shoot and they can score. Mavs are loaded with shooters, Barea, Stojakovic, Terry, even Cardinal all have great range. Miami's bench is loaded with aging guys trying for one last shot at a ring. Chalmers will see some minutes, as will Miller, but outside that it will be left mainly up to the big three.
Conclusion.
SHOULD be a very tight series. Dallas offence is going to be enormously difficult for Miami to handle. They seem to rely on trying to score more than their opponents rather than limit their opponents output. Which is probably just as well as there's not much you can do about Lebron and Wade anyway. If the Dallas shooters are on their mark, then I think they win the series. If Lebron decides to elevate again, which he seems to be able to do at will, and drags Wade and Bosh with him, then Miami will get up. I know who I want to win, Im just not sure it's going to happen.
Miami in 7.
---------- Post added 28-05-2011 at 10:00 AM ----------
For the other 98% of people in this thread :
"Lebron sucks, I hate Miami so much!! Yeh finals time, WHOO HOO!!! Mavs smash them, go Dirk, Go Kidd. I hate Wade too, Cry baby idiot. Sick of the Lebron Hype, they were lucky to get over Chicago, biased cheating refs!!! Rose is MVP, youre nothing Lebron and youll never get anywhere near MJ!!! Go back to Akron. Bosh is nothing but a two bit role player, SUCK IT MIAMI!!! GO MAVS!! YAY FINALS!!! WHOO HOO NBA!!! Basketball!! BUMP IT!!! Any got any cheap MJ autos?? Im not willing to spend over $18USD?? LEBRON IS A TOOL!!!! NBA, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"
...finally, after strata has allowed Foxtel installations in the building )
) I missed all my Premier League )
