of bad coaching, putting Bosh on Dirk at the end.

That's what Is being said on Mike & Mike. It couldn't have been that - other than a meltdown by the Mavs at the end of the 1s half and horrible turnovers to start the 3rd - Dallas was clearly the better team.

Muy it's always going to be about what the heat didn't do as opposed to what the MAVS did...the bias is so evident. They said the same thing after the lakers series as well.

someone (maybe jon barry) was just asked whether this was an epic comeback, an epic collapse, or both. barry said it was definitely an epic collapse.

Hopefully the media keeps making this all about Bron Bron's quest for the title and ignore another team playing on the other side.

no, they won bc its all rigged.

I really want to see the Mavs win this one, but the OP makes it damn near impossible.

because they are so huge.

The media is continually spinning this series to be all about Miami. (to be expected, i know)

So far Dallas looks like the better team to me. They are taking better shots and seem to be deeper.

Miami was making some jaw dropping athletic plays but the score never got out of control until Dallas started making unforced turnovers.

well, there's no question the mavs deserve some credit for the comeback. they stopped turning the ball over and started making some shots.

but there's no question that spoelstra screwed the pooch in the 4th. even before the last possession, their offense went into prevent mode, just milking the shot clock and letting lebron shoot off-balance jumpers as the clock expired.

chandler picked up his 5th foul with like 4 minutes left, you have dwade and lebron, but you're settling for jumpers?

and i don't think you can go overboard about the dallas defense locking down because they just really weren't challenged down the stretch.

and on the final possesion, yeah, that was bad coaching. you have bosh guarding dirk (instead of lebron or haslem) and then you don't foul him as soon as the puts the ball on the court?? and you let him go left? just a collossal failure.

there's been talk about collapse vs comeback...last night, i'd say it was 70% collapse, 30% comeback

quote:

---

and i don't think you can go overboard about the dallas defense locking down because they just really weren't challenged down the stretch.

---

I'm not sure this is entirely true. The Mavs, for the most part, played good halfcourt defense all game. Lebron couldn't miss from the outside during the first 3 quarters, Bibby was hitting from out there too, and Dwade had it working inside and outside. Wade was the only Heat player really attacking though. The Mavs want Lebron and Bibby to jack up 3s. The only problem is for the first 7 quarters of the series they were making all of them (Chalmers in game 1 instead of Bibby).

Miami built their lead on run-out dunks from fast breaks (WAY too many Mavs' turnovers) and outside shooting.

The Mavs' defense didn't really do anything different down the stretch, but Miami just started missing from outside and the Dallas turnovers stopped which in turn stopped the Miami fastbreak dunks.

didn't you just agree with me?

sometimes when a team "collapses", people tend to overlook the fact that a big part of that is because the opposing defense clamped down and made it difficult to get good shots. my point was that i didn't think dallas really did anything different, miami's offense just basically went into stupid mode.

I kind of agreed with you, but my point which I did a bad job of articulating is that Miami's offense had been stagnant for most of the first 7 quarters of the series. Lebron hit several end of shot-clock prayers before last night's 4th quarter. So did D-Wade.

Think back to the end of 3rd quarter shot Lebron hit in game 1: that was "stupid mode" too but it just went in.

quote:

---

sometimes when a team "collapses", people tend to overlook the fact that a big part of that is because the opposing defense clamped down and made it difficult to get good shots. my point was that i didn't think dallas really did anything different, miami's offense just basically went into stupid mode.

---

dallas is much better in the half court than the heat, especially on d.

Game 3 of 2006 was all about the Dallas collapse as well.

It was a combination of both. And Barry did say that on the post game. He said both.

Spolstra was outcoached. And I think the Mavs will have the advantage there moving forward. If the Mavs can keep it close, I think Carlisle will be more solid than Spolstra.

You know, I think I have to agree about the Mavs looking like the better team. The Mavs have been sloppy and have not shot well and they have won one and were up by 8 in the first game mid-way through the 3rd quarter. I really think that if Dallas can keep playing the good defense and cut out the turnovers, they will be just fine. AS I said earlier, if the game is close at the end, I think they have a significant advantage.

Call it a collapse or meltdown, but you still have to give the Mavs credit for taking advantage and closing out the game when given the opportunity.

Like someone already mentioned, it will never be a comeback as long as the Mavs are playing a team like the Lakers, Heat, etc.

what's odd is that i don't really get a sense that either team has really played all that well, at least offensively.

i think they're pretty evenly matched in terms of talent, but dallas has a big advantage in in-game coaching.

One thing sports fans can be happy about: there were very few whistles in that final 7 mins.

The refs didnt 'protect' or 'give the game' to anyone.

Dirk is due for a monster game. They've defended him well, but he has still missed a lot of shots he normally knocks down (remember that last night he only had 15 pts late in the 4th, then he score the last 9 for the Mavs). I'm hoping for a 35/10 game from Dirk on Sunday to put the Mavs in the driver's seat.

puddy with another useless bitter post in the middle of a good thread

If the Mavs' perimeter shooting returns to form (aka Peja and Terry) and we find an answer in the paint/stop giving up 25 NBA Jam dunks a game, it very may well come down to coaching, where I think the Mavs have the clear advantage.

That being said, there were plenty of times in last nights game where Carlisle looked very desperate. Brian Cardinal, seriously??

quote:

---

Brian Cardinal, seriously??

---

It was senior night in Miami, the last home game before they lose eligibility. Gotta give Cardinal 3-4 mins.

What do I have to be bitter about egg head? My emotions aren't controlled by pro sports, sorry to disappoint you. You gave up on your team last night, and were the first to come running back here acting like a moron like usual. You're a coward.

First off, at some point you have to admit the Mav's coming back like this isn't just a fluke. It's happened in every series this year. It takes a special team to make double digit comebacks against the quality of opponents that they have done it against. I guess the Mav's wont get the credit for how they are playing until they win it all. They aren't flashy like the teams they play, but damn they play good basketball.

In a way I guess I kind of understand the attitude if you are not a Mav's fan. You watch the Heat play and with their talent and athleticism you wonder how they could lose? Last night when they went on their run in the late 3rd and early 4th I wanted to blame the Mav's for being careless with the ball and taking horrible shots. The truth is that the Heat turned up their defensive pressure into overdrive and forced the Mav's into those mistakes. I also kept hoping that the Heat were blowing their load early and I think that was the case. When the Mav's started their comkeback the Heat looked gassed. I think they settled for those outside jumpers because they didn't have the legs remaining for their high flying circus act. Say what you want about the Mav's but they are deep and I think they wear these teams down throughout a game.

If games like this happen once, call it a fluke. When it happens 3, 4 or 5 times, people need to wake up and realize what they are seeing.


Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit

quote:

---

The truth is that the Heat turned up their defensive pressure into overdrive and forced the Mav's into those mistakes.

---

I guess you missed the 6 unforced turnovers the Mavs committed that resulted in easy fastbreak points for Miami. Thats 12 points the heat didnt have to earn, sure they are opportunistic and that is needed but dont act like they didnt have these points gift wraped.

Sure there were other times when the Heat stole the ball right outta the handlers hands, blocked a shot or got a long rebound and took it to the house, but the Mavericks dug themselves into that whole by poor play. That last 7 mins was not some late game heroics or deep desperation shots. The Mavs where methodical and patient and continued to execute their plan.

Basketball I.Q. The Mavs have it. The Lebronwades win almost entirely on athleticism. Dallas also clearly has better coaching. Spoelstra's job is to just stay out of Lebronwade's way, and make sure they have enough Gatorade. Dallas knows how to run plays. Lebronwades know how to make sure the right camera angle is on them when celebrating big plays.....prematurely.

How can you say the Heat dont have Basketball IQ there are players on that team with rings...

I'm not so sure about the low basketball IQ. Maybe Bosh, but Wade and Bron seem to play fairly smart most of the time I do think they have fragile psyche's. Just look at earlier in the year when they were on a losing streak and Bosh was crying and Wade and Bron looked like the world had ended. I'm hoping this loss will mess with their minds and they start blaming each other and implode in Dallas.

The Heat definitely choked, but the Mavs also went 9-10 from the field down the stretch. Try doing that when you are 15 points down and staring down the barrel of an 0-2 Finals deficit...

Gig 'em!

agreed, this is a good thread, good time to ignore puddy's attempt to derail it.

...david stern chose to extend the series before letting miami win in order to capitalize on the money made

While I do think the refs would favor a team like the Mavs before a thugish, unfavorable Heat team, the refs can't make all those shots down the stretch of the fourth quarter. PERIOD.

It's funny that so many people are going to say for the rest of this series that the Heat are going to win the rest of the games. period. I can't believe they can't imagine how a team with 2 of the top 5 players could lose to a team with 1 superstar. I guess they didn't watch the USA compete against international teams the years they would lose to far less athletic, talented teams who were literally over-matched at every single position. The Mavs are over-matched at the two postitons James and Wade play. That is it. The best TEAM always wins. And I don't mean TEAM as in whoever has the best 8/9 man rotation. I mean the best TEAM wins; in other words, the rotation that plays the best together wins in a series of 7 games. Considering the Mavs have played awful compared to their 2011 postseason prior to the Finals, if i was a literate Heat fan, now is the time to worry. Now if you're like most Heat fans, keep telling yourself and all your "bros", the Heat have dominated this series minus the last 6+ minutes of Game 2. And put your money where your mouth is while you're at it. Mavs won't let this go 7 games as I said before the series started. I've watched every game of this postseason for both teams, and I predicted my Champion solely on their postseason body of work and who was the better TEAM. Mavs in 6 with all my bias aside, and I truly am not biased when it comes to my money. I pumped money into the Mavs for the series before game 1, after game 1, and now after game 2. America, enjoy the rest of this one.