Dwyane Wade scored 29 points on 12-21 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Heat defeated the Mavericks 88-86 last night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Dallas. The Heat now lead the series 2 games to 1. LeBron James chipped in 17 points and 9 assists and Chris Bosh had 18 points, including the game-winning jumper with under a minute to go. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks had 34 points to lead all scorers, but his jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it hit the back rim.
Through the first three games of the NBA Finals, Wade looks like the best player on the floor to me. Having not had the opportunity to watch the 2006 NBA Finals, this is the best basketball I have ever seen Wade play. He looks downright unstoppable most of the time out there and his jump shot is going in at an extraordinary rate. James has done a good job facilitating and I think his presence allows Wade to have a little more freedom.
Right now, Wade is playing too well for the Mavericks to give him space, they probably need to double team him and force someone else to shoot it. That's what happened on the last play when Bosh knocked down the game-winner. The defense was good in forcing the ball out of Wade's hands but needed to be a little better closing on Bosh. Even so, it's better if Bosh is open than Wade, so the only problem is there should have been a little better rotation defensively.
Nowitzki is playing stellar basketball and I honestly thought his shot was going to go in and force overtime, but I guess the percentages say they can't all go in. Nowitzki needs better play around him, particularly from Jason Terry who has faltered somewhat in the Finals after having an outstanding playoffs. It wouldn't hurt for J.J. Barea to be more productive either. The Mavericks have to accomplish these things if they want to have a realistic shot at winning the series. Game 4 is tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT on ABC.
Showing posts with label LeBron James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LeBron James. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Big Mavericks comeback ties NBA Finals
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 95-93 tonight in Game 2 of the NBA Finals from Miami. The Mavericks overcame a 15 point 4th quarter deficit to capture the win. Dirk Nowitzki was clutch again, scoring the final 9 points for Dallas. With some of the celebrating that was going on, I think the Heat thought they had the game won. Dwyane Wade was outstanding and LeBron James was very good. Wade look completely unstoppable at times to be honest. I think there definitely was a mental lapse on the part of the Heat.
However, credit has to be given to the Mavericks for refusing to quit. They looked terrible for much of the second half -- it just seemed like they were completely out of sync, turning the ball over and making poor decisions that led to a lot of easy baskets by the Heat. The Mavericks seemed to take better care of the basketball down the stretch and to calm down when they needed to. Without the turnovers, they were able to defend Miami in more half court sets, allowing their defense to be more effective.
The Mavericks will need to show better focus throughout entire games if they expect to win the series and the Heat will need to maintain the focus they showed throughout the 3rd quarter and first half of the 4th quarter if they expect to win the series. It could very well be a good, long series. It looks like Nowitzki's left hand is healthy enough and that should mean the Mavericks are able to stay competitive in the series. I think this game was a must-win for the Mavericks with the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. It would have been a tall order to ask Dallas to win all three games at home, but now if they take two of the three they can go back to Miami needing just one win to capture the title. Game 3 is Sunday night in Dallas at 6 p.m. MT on ABC.
However, credit has to be given to the Mavericks for refusing to quit. They looked terrible for much of the second half -- it just seemed like they were completely out of sync, turning the ball over and making poor decisions that led to a lot of easy baskets by the Heat. The Mavericks seemed to take better care of the basketball down the stretch and to calm down when they needed to. Without the turnovers, they were able to defend Miami in more half court sets, allowing their defense to be more effective.
The Mavericks will need to show better focus throughout entire games if they expect to win the series and the Heat will need to maintain the focus they showed throughout the 3rd quarter and first half of the 4th quarter if they expect to win the series. It could very well be a good, long series. It looks like Nowitzki's left hand is healthy enough and that should mean the Mavericks are able to stay competitive in the series. I think this game was a must-win for the Mavericks with the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. It would have been a tall order to ask Dallas to win all three games at home, but now if they take two of the three they can go back to Miami needing just one win to capture the title. Game 3 is Sunday night in Dallas at 6 p.m. MT on ABC.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
LeBron James comes up big and silences critics
What a night it was last night for LeBron James. His (2) Miami Heat closed out the (3) Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, 4 games to 1, winning Game 5, 97-87. James had 33 points, but more importantly than that, hit two huge three-pointers down the stretch to cement the win.
James has taken a lot of criticism this year, particularly for how he handled his decision to leave Cleveland last summer. He was also critiqued for not coming through in the clutch, although I don't think that was an entirely fair rap on him.
I think the doubters can be silenced for now, though, as James hit all the big shots down the stretch in a key playoff game for the Heat. He was the guy they needed him to be. I also thought it was classy that he apologized to Cleveland for how everything went down last summer. James really is a great player and we'll see if he is able to obtain that elusive first championship this year.
I was hoping the Celtics would take this series, but the Heat simply look like a better team right now, particularly looking more poised down the stretch of Games 4 and 5 of the series. The Heat now await the winner of the (1) Bulls and (5) Hawks series, which the Bulls lead 3 games to 2. Game 6 of that series is tonight in Atlanta at 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN.
James has taken a lot of criticism this year, particularly for how he handled his decision to leave Cleveland last summer. He was also critiqued for not coming through in the clutch, although I don't think that was an entirely fair rap on him.
I think the doubters can be silenced for now, though, as James hit all the big shots down the stretch in a key playoff game for the Heat. He was the guy they needed him to be. I also thought it was classy that he apologized to Cleveland for how everything went down last summer. James really is a great player and we'll see if he is able to obtain that elusive first championship this year.
I was hoping the Celtics would take this series, but the Heat simply look like a better team right now, particularly looking more poised down the stretch of Games 4 and 5 of the series. The Heat now await the winner of the (1) Bulls and (5) Hawks series, which the Bulls lead 3 games to 2. Game 6 of that series is tonight in Atlanta at 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN.
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