DALLAS 90-MIAMI 80
If you are a Heat fan....there is quite a cause for concern after Game 1's loss.
-Dirk Nowizki scored just 16 points in this game [shooting 4-of-14].
-Miami shot an NBA record-worst 7-19 from the "charity" stripe. Ugh. Shaq was 1-9 [and he missed two other FTs that were overturned by lane violations]. Wade was 6-10. They were the only two players who went to the line.
-Miami was the first team to outrebound the Mavs all postseason.
-Dallas backup center Erik Dampier did a great job defending Shaq....and scoring some points of his own.
-Mavs bench outscored Miami's bench 24-2....which was a big advantage for the Mavs heading into this series. They can bring in guys like Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Van Horn who can keep the pressure on the offensive end of the court. Miami's guys [mainly Payton and Alonzo Mourning] are there to keep defensive pressure up. The offensive guys won.
-The one noticeable advantage Miami had was Pat Riley's 9 Finals appearances and more playoff wins that Mavs' coach Avery Johnson has even coached! Well, Riley took Shaq out late in the 2nd quarter and Dallas went on a 10-0 run to take a halftime lead. On the other side, Johnson switched to trapping Miami [which wouldn't make much sense with Jason Williams, Wade and Gary Payton's ability to handle the ball] was a stroke of genius. It forced Miami to use up clock and not be able to get the ball in to Shaq and run their offense. Johnson also used a 2-3 zone against Miami for a bit, which contained their offense somewhat.
-Miami had a 34-23 lead early in the 2nd quarter. After that, the Mavs outscored the Heat 67-46.
-Dallas inserted Adrian Griffin in to defend Wade....and it didn't work. Wade had a strong open to the game, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. However, he scored 15 the rest of the game with a poor shooting percentage....and the Mavs just used their usual team instead of Griffin [who killed Dallas with a few missed layups].
-There is a lot of buzz around Miami's 1-2 punch of Shaq and Wade....but it was the second banana for Dallas that went off. Jason Terry scored 32 points in his first Finals game....on 13-of-18 shooting and 4-of-7 from downtown. And there were stretches where he dominated both offensively and defensively. He scored 12 pts in the fourth quarter....the same amount Miami scored.
1 comment:
That could not have been explained any better.
I think we are starting to see a growing trend in the NBA, Players are not wanting to be a "one man show" anymore, and are starting to realize that you cant win a championship that way ever, with out a good supporting cast.
Both of these teams have big names everywhere on the floor and on the bench, and I think this is doing some good for the game, and showing unselfishness.
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