The NBA Finals are finally set and ready to tip off Tuesday. One team in the finals everybody wanted to fail and not advance in the playoffs, but here they are. As for the other no one thought they had the heart and mental toughness to make it this far. The battle between LeBron and Dirk for their first ring could go down in the history book as an epic NBA Finals.
LeBron and Dirk are both having the best post season of their careers. For Dirk he’s shown that he has the heart and desire to win a championship taking games over late and hitting big shots down the stretch in the Oklahoma City series. LeBron on the other hand has silenced the critics who said he wasn’t clutch by taking over game after game and holding the league MVP Derrick Rose to a whopping 6.3% shooting while guarding him.
It goes beyond just LeBron and Dirk in this series though. Dallas has a system and the players in place that makes them similar to Orlando. Dominant big man surrounded by shooters. However Dallas’ big man has range outside of eight feet unlike Orlando. It’s because of Dallas’ shooter that I think the Mavs have one blowout win in this series. It’s also because of their shooters I think they’ll have one blowout loss too. One game they’re bound to be red hot where Miami can’t do anything about it, and another they’re bound to be cold which lets Miami get out in transition.
Miami has proven that they can play a half court series against a lock down defensive unit like Boston and Chicago or get out in transition where they are most dangerous with LeBron and Wade two of the best players in the world.
So now for the big question everyone is asking: Who guards Dirk in this series? It has to be Chris Bosh for a majority of the game. Bosh and Dirk actually have similar games because they are both finesse big men. Dirk just has much better range than Bosh and has a adeaway jumper that is near impossible for anyone to guard. Shawn Marion said it best about Dirk, “he’s a seven footer with a wetter.” LeBron may guard Dirk for stretches but Bosh will be matched up on him for a majority of the time. Also, no 40 point explosions for Dirk against Miami. The Thunder don’t play a ton of defense, Miami however does.
Defensively Miami has a big edge in this series. They are now the best half court defensive team in the league after shutting down the MVP and holding him to 36% shooting. Dallas won’t put up 110 points on the Heat’s defense like they did against the Thunder. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are far better defensive players than Westbrook, Durant, and Nick Collison.
For the Heat this will be the least effective defensive team they played since the first round of the playoffs. Instead of everyone wondering who guards Dirk the bigger question should be who guards LeBron and Wade? Both are quick enough and strong enough to get by whoever is fronting them out on the perimeter, so Dallas will call on Tyson Chandler to be a force inside and a shot blocker.
My prediction for the series is the Heat in six games. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are just too much for Dallas. The younger and more athletic veterans win the series and the King gets his first ring to cap off a historic playoff run.
