MIAMI – Caron Butler‘s allegiance to his team should never be questioned.
Never.
And especially not on the eve of his Dallas Mavericks playing the Miami Heat in The Finals.
Not that it stopped the question from being raised during Monday’s media availability session. Considering Butler’s ties to the Heat — he was drafted by the Heat with the No. 10 pick in the 2002 Draft, spent the first two seasons of his career in Miami and remains close with Heat star Dwyane Wade — it might not seem like such a strange topic.
But when you consider the year Butler has endured — he hasn’t played since tearing his right patella tendon in a New Year’s Day game in Milwaukee and was forced to retreat into the safety net that is his Mavericks family since then — you’d know why the question makes his laugh.
“Obviously Washington was a great place for me, that’s where I had a huge imprint,” Butler said of his four-and-a-half seasons with the Wizards. “But I’m with who I’m with. I’m with Dallas. I’m with Dallas all the way. That’s a no-brainer … if they win I get a ring, too.”
Speaking about the Mavericks in that tone makes it easy to tell what kind of impact the layoff has had on Butler. Yet he remains optimistic about a potential return in this series, even though it doesn’t seem terribly realistic at this point.
He’s listed officially as day-to-day. But he’s only endured light contact in practice and save for those nine minutes he played against the Bucks, has not seen a second of game action this calendar year. Doubt him, however, at your own risk.
“He hasn’t been ruled out. It’s unlikely that Caron will play. Probably,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “But if you would have asked me on January 1st, the night when he went down in Milwaukee when he went down on the floor, his right kneecap came about three or four inches up into his thigh, because the patella tendon snapped. He was on the floor, and he took his right hand and he took his patella he took his kneecap and he shoved it back into place. He got up and walked off the floor on his own power.
“At that time, we didn’t know what the injury was. I had heard the thing about the kneecap. And after the game, I just said: ‘Caron, not for nothing, I don’t know what you got in there, but I know it’s serious. I think you know it’s serious. I’ve never seen anybody do that before.’ He just said, well and this was in Milwaukee, and his hometown of Racine is not far. He said, ‘Well, my momma and my grandma were sitting in the stands. I wasn’t going to let them watch me be carried off on a stretcher.’ I wouldn’t bet against that guy.”
Butler obviously refuses to bet against himself.
“This is something you dream of as a kid when you first start playing on the playgrounds in AAU and high school,” he said. “Everybody is watching on this stage. So if I can’t be on the floor for the first couple of games … I’ll definitely be behind the bench cheering my guys on. And I will be clean. They’ll still be watching.”
As for Wade, whom Butler said is like a “little brother,” they’ve been in this situation before, with Wade playing and Butler watching. Butler was a part of the trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal from L.A. to Miami back in 2004. So he watched the Heat and Mavericks square off in The Finals in 2006. He drove down from Racine to support his little brother after Wade called in need of a pick-me-up.
“It’s tough,” Butler said of the bittersweet feeling that this trip The Finals brings. “You want Dwyane to do well, but still want him to lose, so we’ll see what happens … but it’s different now. I’m here rooting for my team.”
With the Mavericks trying to slow down both Wade and LeBron James, they could use a versatile perimeter defender capable of making them work on the other end to defend him. Having Shawn Marion and Butler available could change things considerably for the Mavericks.
Butler would love to be able to deliver for an organization that showed him the ultimate love after he went down for what most everyone assumed was the remainder of the season.
“The organization was great from the beginning,” Butler said. “[Mavericks owner] Mark Cuban telling me I was a part of this organization for the long haul and don’t worry about trade rumors or anything like that. We want you here. And everything he said has been true.”
No one has made any promises about Butler’s potential return. So it’s hard to know for sure if he has any shot at all of actually seeing game action. Butler, though, is relentless. He’s convinced that a sliver of hope is all the motivation he needs to keep grinding his way back. And he’s not even worried about getting his starting spot back. He just wants to contribute in some form or fashion to something much bigger.
“It’d be a dream come true just to win this title,” said Butler, who will be a free agent at season’s end. “I haven’t even gotten to that point (free agency). I just want to win a title. that would be the ultimate goal. That’s the thing that’s really missing in my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to play a lot of years in this league. I’ve been fortunate enough to be an All-Star. I’ve seen a lot of things, done a lot of great things and played with a lot of great players. To win it all would be special.”
lets go caron
DALLAS vs MIAMI in FINALS
though Miami Heat is lack of bench players
RASHEED WALLACE PLS PLAY FOR MIAMI HEAT
GET ALSO NEXT SEASON MARCUS CAMBY & KENYON MARTIN
LET’S GO MIAMI HEAT !!!!!
that will never happen
I hope he makes it back. Solid dude. Solid player. Go Mavs!
IF THE BULLS HAD GOT THAT CARMELO TRADE .
THIS WONT HAPPENED….
BUT I’M HAPPY FOR THE TEAM MIAMI HEAT!!
WE can make it!
Now na! Feel it and Grab it! Stay focus!
Dallas…Sweep the Heat!!
Never that The Heat in 5 and i wouldn’t be surprise if Heat sweep Dallas, Dallas HASN’T PLAYED ANYONE WITH DEFENSE YET, Dallas is a great team and every good offensively but their defense is not all that good only because they got Chandler and Haywood that doesn’t mean they are a great defense team they were just better then they were before and in recent years, if you study Dallas defense they play to much two three defense thats only work for so long and with Miami you cant keep that same defense on the floor eventually Miami will break down that defense because of their big three, Dallas will give them different looks to try and contain them but Miami can break any teams defense down in a seven series against anyone just look at what they did to Chicago rated number 1 defense when the Heat figure out a team or figure a teams concept or a teams game plan they make you have to switch it and thats works in their favor because coaches got to find a new way to defend them and this will happen with Dallas team am not tryna knock them or talk like they are not good because i said it before THEY ARE A GREAT TEAM but they will play a GREATER team…. THE HEAT IN FIVE!!!!!!
… right so far but don’t forget when saying that Dallas didn’t play a great defensive team (I would give LA and Oklahoma the “good”-rating all the way), Miami hasn’t played a great all-around offensive team until yet. Philly, Boston, Chicago all had offensive struggles before meating Miami, look up their stats …, so I wouldn’t overate Miami’s Defense like the media does. We will see two great offensive and good defensive Teams fighting for the title and what will count is rebounding and clutch play from the star players and thats where Dallas has the edge. Still everything is open for me but I tend to say 4-2 Dallas.
Do you realize the complete team that the Mavs have and how the Heat have statistically struggled against this Mavs team this year? I don’t believe you can completely detain LeBron or Wade considering they will get foul calls because the NBA favors star players (as Dirk and every other star will get calls) but we all know the Heat will attack. The mavs will always have 3 shooters on the floor at a time and a body for rebounding. The heat just aren’t a complete team. I know everyone said the bulls bench is greater than the heat bench and look what happened, but the Mavs have the best bench in the NBA. Top to bottom they are complete and everyone has contributed to their wins. I think the Mavs win in 6 because they can outgun the heat.
You have to be out of your mind to think Dallas doesnt play defense. And the Heat dont have enough outside threats to keep the defense honest. I picked the Heat because the Mavs dont have a lot of players that can beat the Heat. And the Heat have a top defense. But if Dallas scores, they will win.
The reason the Bulls lost is just what I said. When playing vs the Heat, you have to have shooters and scorers. And you have to force them to be a jumpshootng team. Otherwise they get to the ft line and kill you. You cant just have one scorer. But the Mavs do have some shooters.We’ll see if they hit their shots.
REALLY GUYS? Dallas has their 4th BENCH option capable of scoring 20plus points. The Heat do not have that. This is a 7 game series and we will see how it truns out when Lebron Wade and Bosh have to play full games. I say Dallas wins game 2. too much talent but you never know. If they play the same way they played against the Lakers and Thunder, they got this series. Lakers and thunder are MUCH BETTER THAN Celtics and Bulls in a 7 game series. NOTE i said 7 game series (not regular season games)
Caron Butler pls. play so that you will never be an excuse.. lol
Lol, yes I want Butler in from game 1.
Hopefully Butler plays, then Dallas will have their 2nd scoring option back, both Dirk and Butler can consistently score 20 each, and if Butler plays, Mavs have a much better chance of getting their championship, Butler should give Game 1 a shot, if he is still hurting or is a liability to the team, then take him out.
Go Genebra! HAHAHA… My Prediction Mavs 4-1
Your a filipino and you’re hating on the Heat lol. You do know that Coach Spoelstra is a filipino right?
Spo’s fine but LBJ is just too much…i just hope they win so all of their efforts in teaming up wont go to waste..
All bets on the Underdog!! dont let me down Mavs!!!!
Its not about being a filipino….its about cheering for your own team
I think that if Dallas struggles the 1st two games, especially the 1st game they r gonna give him a chance to play in game 2. It all depends on how good or bad Dallas plays.
I think the Mavs need him back..and he needs to be above 90%, for them to win.
i hope he will played. he would be a good defender for wade.
he plays at least 3 games mavericks WILL win.
hands down.
mavs in 6 i think…. go MAVS!
The so-called big three will come to know how callous they are against the blazing Mavs. You will see the threes and fastbrakes coming in all directions and the streaking Matrix Marion cutting through porous Heat defenses….Lebron the quitter will know after being toyed around that, no matter he surround himself with superstars, this basketball is a team play and not a one man show. Watch and be entertained by good basketball from the ball movements of the Mavs. Just watch how Jason Kidd and Terry will toy around the Heat. Dirk will play the decoy most of the time and hit them hard when they are unaware. Mavs is superbly great ball club adept at knowing good basketball movement and score fast in transition.
Incidentally, they will insert Caro for 10 minutes or so, sparingly to create havoc, another decoy…The Heatless (reduced to smoke) better watch out for Brian Cardinal…he will be a menace.
Sounds like a bad carnival announcer is talking lol.
agree @HeatWave…we all hear their excuses when we defeated Philly, conquered Celtics and shutdown Bulls. I hope they will have better one on Mavs. Heat on 6.
@Tinio have you taken your MEDS??? LOL
Hope you can play atleast at 90% and get your Ring haha… GO MAVS!!!! BEAT the HEAT!!!
let’s go heat! 4-0
let,s go heat! 4-0
Mavs in 5! So u take me seriously I should tell you that I got every, well almost every(except Magic – Hawks), Series right this year. And I made my predictions before the Playoffs started. Well, back then I had Mavs in 6, so i changed my prediction a little there.
Ultimately this series comes down to whether or not Chandler and Haywood make stupid fouls. If they contest shots and make life difficult for the slashers (James and Wade) then it don’t matter if MIller or Bibby is shooting 3′s cause Dallas can stay at home.
If however, it comes down to a small line up with Dirk “manning” the paint, Heat win hands down.
Dallas fans, pray that Chandler and Haywood are doing rotation footwork drills and praciticing moving those feet!!
game one will show us how two teams are great in defense. i believe best defense is the best offence .. let go HEAT
These ppl callin a sweep either way are nuts..Mavs in 6. Dirk is playing on such a different level right now and i don’t believe anyone can guard him.IF the Heat think they can just double him. Look for Kidd,Terry and Peja to take over draining 3′s.If they go one on one like many are saying with Lebron or Haslem on him then THE MATRIX and JJ will be driving the lanes taking lay ups and drawing fouls. Key to this for Dallas grab rebounds and share the ball. Heats 3 will be out matched by the depth the Mavs have… Dirk will not be denied his ring!!!! He will also teach Lebron that taking his talents to South Beach wasn’t such a good idea.
Maybe Dirk will take his talent to L.A. next season hahaha
MAVS in 5 ^_^ LETS GO MAVS!!
MAVS to win by double digit. I’ll take the bashing from now till about midnight tomorrow, then I’ll be laughing inside enjoying my 30/1 winning odds.
I should have taken you up on that.
Why do you people choose a WEAK team?, LET’S GO HEAT!
You really have to open your minds about making a prediction. First of all, Miami Heat was 2-0 against the Dallas Mavericks this season. The question is if they are the same team back then. Chemistry changed, Experiences changed, Rotation changed, Clutch abilities changed. Dirk Nowitzki has been terrific all postseason long but here’s the fact: Mavs finished off the Blazers knowing that brandon roy is fresh from injury. Mavs finished off the Lakers which is a different team from the last two years ( Gasol’s inconsistency, No one steps up from the bench except Odom) Mavs finished the young thunder without experience. While the Heat topped the Celtics in 5 games, a solid team that was expected to represent East to the NBA finals. Defeated the Bulls which was terrific all year long with their MVP Derrick Rose. So when finals starts, experience matters.
Heat vs Sixers: 4-1
Heat vs Celtics: 4-1
Heat vs Bulls: 4-1
Heat vs Dallas 4-1
My Prediction: Heat in 5
Check your stats genius, Mavs swept the heat in the regular season.
lol
Bulls 3-0
Celtics 3-1
obviously regular season has nothing to do with it
YOU don’t know anything LOL
THE SAME THING THE BOSTON AND BULLS FAN TOLD US, THEN WHAT HAPPENED??? LOL CHECK YOUR COMMENTS A55H0LE…
You obviously know nothing… seeing as the MAVS were 2-0 against the HEAT this season not the other way around, and the Celtics although a good team are old and lacking a good center (coming from a celtics fan right here) and the Bulls have a pathetic offense if you shut down Derrick Rose which is all the Heat did. Mavs 4-2
Bulls went 3-0 against the Heat. They hadn’t lost back to back games since Feb 7. Yet they lost 4 in a row to the heat in the playoffs. Before that series started, everyone said the Bulls have too much depth in their bench and they’re defense is too much for Miami to score against, and how wil lthey stop Rose. You must be realizing a general theme here, regular season results do not matter when it comes to playoffs.. Yet we still see similar arguments with the Mavs just like you did the Bulls. who’s going to guard Nowitzki? The Mavs have too much experience and depth in their bench. The bulls weren’t that good offensively.. Bottom line is this sereis will come down to bench play, if the Heat can’t contain Barea and Terry from having an impact on the game then the Mavs should win… Saying that if the heat fnd a way to shut out the Mavs electric offense then they have control.. personally, I think the defensive presence Miami has will be too much for a team like the Mav.. Team defense will ultimately win this for the Heat.. Defense wins championships. Miami in 6
look what happened to bulls and celtics, they won the season series against the heat but the heat blew them out in the
postseason. heat in 6
and you obviously haven’t learned anything, which is worse than knowing nothing. season records don’t matter in the playoffs. there are many examples, most notable and most recent of which are the Heat series against the Celtics and the Bulls. ans shutting down D. Rose is easier said than done, and the Heat did it. you don’t know much about basketball do you?
dude, boston was HURT everyway. no shaq. Busted elbow rondo, pierce was in and out of the line up.i mean common dude. and bostons offense sucked too. and yet they were in 3 of the four games they lost. and ray was a no factor. listen miamis defense is good but they have not played any good offensive team. can tey beat dallas. Yes. will they? only one way to find out.
Boston was so banged up yet they were up about 10 points with minutes to go game five. C’mon just give Miami the credit for turing the game up when I mattered most.
you know the celtics were banged up the heat dont deserve any credit for beating a team that was injured and rocked by a trade
@Sean
ALL OF YOU PEOPLE GOT A LOT OF REASONS TO EXCUSE… LOSERS!
Y is it everytime the MAvS win its overrated!!!??? But if any other team comes in and sweeps the Lakers its because they are the better team?? I want my MAVS to win just so you all will show them some sort of respect!!!! They deserve some with two hall of fame guys that have made the game better to watch just like your Heat!!!
Butler would have been big if he plays in the finals, a solid scorer and a decent defender, another body to throw at LeBron or Wade, he doesn’t need to play much minutes but his presence and determination could make a difference in Dallas title hopes, this will be the Mavs greatest test and i do hope they pull it out.. Mavs also has a better 10 guys vs. Miami’s 3, i think the Heat has a tall mountain to climb, Dallas is better than they(heat) think.. Udonis may have had a way to defend Dirk before but the German Juggernaut is way better now than 5 years ago
heat 4 to nothing.
go heat!!
repeat 2006!!
Butler is the number two punch of the mav and i think without him it would be difficult for the mavs to win the game with heat.. Butler will definitley return and play with the mavs but not this series with the mavs http://sportales.com/basketball/heat-versus-maverickswill-history-repeat-itself/ see this artcle tells about the importance of Butler to this match up with heat
I’m going with Charles Barkley on this one, Mavs will win it. Miami’s defense won’t be able to stop Dallas’s superior depth. Dallas is 14-0 against the heat after the 06 finals; they know how to beat this team.
They only played 2 games against this new made Heat team!!!
2 games say it all…
AND THEY ARE 2-0
Heat in 5 or 6… HEAT defense too much and too versatile… lets see.. the OKC team had big leads at the end of 3 out of the 5 games.. and do we really think the HEAT will give up those leads if they have at the end of the game.. and the HEAT have had come backs as well… they can score when they want and get a stop when they want.. I want to see LeBron shut down DIRK… LeBron MVP of finals and this is will be the worst team of this HEAT DYNASTY !!!!! Let the haters hate… and watch the Championships pile up…
Let’s Go Mavs! We can do this! Mavs in 5!
Lets see how much gas Dallas will have in their tank to beat Miami. People keep talking about defending Dirk, but noone is talking about how Dallas will defend James, and Wade. If we can limit Dirk like the way we did on Rose, Heat will take this series.
Crap! Its not about James or Wade or Bosh or Nowitzki or Terry or Butler…
ITS ABOUT JASON KIDD!! Point guard dictates every game!!!
MAVS in 7 go KIDD!!
lol you actually think butler will help dallas? butler will ruin dallas’s chemistry especially now that they’re good.
this will be though game because Caron Butler will play in the Mavericks this finals there will be game with defense at all..
This will be a though game of the Dallas Mavericks because Caron Butler will come back (Hopefully) and also he will be play hard and defend Lebron James and Dwyane Wade……the Dallas will play defense so that to beat the Heat..
I ma Pinoy but i love Mavs! Let’s Go Mavs!
Both great teams clash in the finals! i like the Mavs to win the finals in 7 so that J.Kidd got his ring before he retire! the Miami’s big 2.5 have a lot of chance to get their own…..
i know that there is a question on whether Butler will be ready, but I’m windering why no one has metioned Roddy B. From the reports that I’ve read, he has been cleared to play and would be a good addition to the line up if Carlise makes the decision to use him.
Unless you are a mav;s fan or a heat hater, its hard to see the mavs winning this series. The mav’s were not all that impressive against Oklahoma. The lakers yes but you could say that they also had some kind of breakdown. But against OKC, OKC had plenty of chances to put the game away but they for some reason broke down too. I wouldn’t give the Mav’s defense credit for shutting down OKC’s offense because they didn’t. After a while, OKC just stopped moving the ball around and Durant and Westbrook just started taking bad shots. No one was cutting to the basket, everyone was just sitting around and iso’ing for Durant or westbrook. They weren’t running any plays on offense. Maybe the coach wasn’t drawing up plays for them. OKC played good defense at times but Dirk was just unbelievable. If Mav’s want to win, they need dirk play just as well or even better than he did against OKC. Miami has three superstars on their team compared to one for dallas. Jason kidd was good and still is but he is not the same player he was in his prime. Now people say dallas will win because they play team basketball but has anyone noticed that the heat have also been playing good team basketball??? Everyone thought the heat would lose to boston because boston beat them in the regular season but look at what happened. Same with the bulls. Everyone thought miami would lose to chicago because the bulls swept them in the regular season. The heat also took it in 5. Both teams are playing good team basketball but the only difference is that miami has 3 superstars and that will make the difference.
So true. James Harden had his way with Dallas at times. I’m hoping all these pre finals predictions don’t jinx my team but I honestly know Miami is the better team. Just need to make sure they play that way.
The HEAT are playing really good right now. They have superior individual talents. That said It is rather very easy to fall for the HEAT. But come to think of it, so far they’ve only beaten mediocre playoff teams, while the MAVS beat the teams that everybody was trying to avoid. Best indivdual talents vs best all around team, this will be a great series. MAVS to win – LET’S GO MAVS !
I disagree with you. The only mediocre team they beat was Philly. Actually i wouldnt even consider philly a mediocre team, more like below average but the only really good team Dallas beat was LA. Miami had to go through a very good boston team, and Chicago who had the best regular season record. I would say beating chicago and boston is harder to do than beating portland and OKC. Beating Boston and chicago is just as hard as beating LA i would say. Just because dallas beat the former champs, it doesn’t mean they are the new champs. People don’t give miami enough credit for what they’ve done in the playoffs so far. Sorry to say but you don’t win games with a good bench. A good bench might make a difference in one game, but it still comes down to the starting 5. The heat have a pretty good starting 5 and a decent bench. The only position they could use an upgrade at i would say is pg but it’s not really necessary because Lebron or wade usually has the ball anyway. I like the Mav’s but the odds are against them for this one. I actually didn’t think they would make it this far but they have proved me wrong so far. Let’s see if they can prove me wrong again.
lowbudgetballer your doing the same thing.. Thats y they play the game!!! Its not what you say that matters!!! Its what happens on the court!! Everyone one could say the only reason the heat beat boston was because there star pg got hurt!! So please just say the Heat in 4 and stop with all the other crap!!!! GO MAVS
I doubt very much that butler will be back , sure he may be able to something offensively , but who the hell is he going to guard on defense wade, james or bosh . pick ur poison, there is no way he will be able to effectively guard them.
The mavs have played terrific offense till now in the playoffs and if they can continue to do the same against the heat ,i cant imagine that the heat will go away with the title. That is why they will not play butler, he wont be the same capable guy that he was in the regular season and you cant throw him out against the heat to be guarded by james or wade. sorry mavs fans butler is a strict no-no for this round .
This is a tough series for the heat , they cannot win unless james shows up and plays like the two time MVP . if he and not dirk is the best player offensively on the floor then the heat will win it all. i think the miami big 3 will avg about 70 to 80 points a game .
all said and done,this is any teams game, both have played simply terrific basketball and really both are deserving to be champs . Enjoy the series everyone .
And everyone please,stop saying the heat have played mediocre teams , maybe mediocre offensive teams, but two great defensive teams (also 2 of the top 3 teams in the east) . Just because miami beat them doesnt make them mediocre . Boston and chicago were legitamate title contenders at the start of the playoffs . Don’t degrade these teams to make the heat look mediocre . the top 3 seeds in any conference are not there by luck.
It really comes down to rebounding, getting stops, whose hot and whose not, and whose gona play hard every game of the series! you cant predict any of that.. we will see what happens
It will be a great series. Goodluck to both teams!
I’m very very sure, Nobody in the Heat could stop the consistency of Dirki! as have seen in LA and OKC playoffs, something like 50 pts on game 1. Mavs in 4, like happened with LA
Dallas in 6… The three stooges can just stand and watch Dirk wreck havoc on the Heat… These miami heat team are just bunch of losers wanting to win the ring the easy way… They will collapse in the middle of the game and just pray that the mavs will not outscore them by 30…
MAVS IN 5…TRUST IF WE GET ONE GAME THERE…IT WONT COME BACK TO MIAMI!! GO MAVERICKS!!!!
lowbudgetballer. the same can be said for the heat. the bulls lost more games than the heat won. Dallas looked much smoother in the OKC series with dirk taking over and stopping the clock by getting to the line. That’s how Wade beat him in ’06 with the help of some questionable refs.
Mavs gonna win ths in 6, and if Butler returns healthy they gonna win it in 4.
Heat dont any bench and they dont have any1 good enough to gaurd any of the Mavs best players,
and Heat fans if you havent been watching basketball lately, Dirk is ungurdable.
Mavs beat 3 good teams, and Heat didnt.
Heat beat a slumping Celtics team that was not the real Celtics tam we all know, and the Bulls werent playing as good either as they were in the regular season, So Heat got a break but now they will face a real team.
Lebron and co. are a bunch of frauds. also all of you foreigners on here, learn how to speak english before you start typing on message boards….just saying….go cheer for yao ming and deltlef schrempf.
I don’t support Lebron nor am I a foreigner however what you said is uncalled for. Many foreigners speak and write better English than people who’ve grown up and gone to school here their whole lives. I’m willing to bet the majority of poorly written comments on these boards are from uneducated Americans. Yao ming and Deltlef Schrempf? Give me a break.
I hope we see some corey brewer this series.
Dallas will beat the Vegas odds and win in 7 ( Miami is favored in the series). Dallas is hungrier, has improved center play and improved defense. Those things will be the difference in the series. Our defense will play equal but our offense will be better. As they always say, we will “outscore” them!
Game 1 – Dallas
Game 2 – Miami
Game 3 – Miami (many will jump ship at this point but not me!)
Game 4 – Dallas
Game 5 – Dallas
Game 6 – Miami
Game 7 – Dallas
This is our time although it will be a tough series and many close games. Miami will win multiple titles with their big three (2 titles) but not until they add more talent to the supporting cast. For this series their bench will step up and compete but Dallas ’ overall balance will prove too much. Both teams look very driven and it will only intensify in this series. Dirk will be Dirk and continue on a tear with a 30+ average and over 50% from the floor but his free through % will drop slightly to 87%. Other predictions:
ü Our centers will dominate although they will have to fight through some foul trouble
ü JJ and JET will cool a bit although they will be effective with less scoring
ü The big three for Miami will play similar to how they have played
ü Kidd will have one triple double, one terrible shooting night, but a solid overall series
ü Corey Brewer will get into the rotation for at least 4 games and frustrate Lebron
ü D-Wade will remind us of ’06 a few times but the refs will not call any touch fouls for him this time around
ü Mark Cuban will continue to support his team by keeping his mouth shut until the end
ü Carlisle will win the coaching battle unlike Avery against Pat Riley in ‘06
ü It will be a great show of “Team-play” vs. “Mega-Stars”
ü America sports fans will jump on the Mavs band wagon and they will be the sentimental favorite
BEAT THE HEAT!
The Mavs went out and stunned LA in game 1 of their series. Look for the Mavs to stun the Miami Heat tonight.
Get on the court TUFFJUICE!!!! Even if he doesn’t get back on the court, the Mavs have plenty of personnel to fall back on.
The dude is going to be a liability. Let him come back to help the Heat.
So when he comes back he is going to start guarding LEBRON JAMES or DWYANE WADE? really?
Don’t come back Caron.The Mavs are flaming without you.Shawn Marion is doing well.I love ya,my man,but…Just leave well enough alone and try to win next season without screwing yourself up.
Anyone who really thinks the mavs(lov kid, but 38?) will win the series, knows nothing about NBA basketball. Heat in 6 bet on it!
LOL I READ TO MANY MAVS FAN….WHICH ARE ACTUALLY BOSTON/BULLS/LAKERS/OKC and lastly CLEVELAND FANATICS…LET THE GAME 1 BEGIN! GO HEAT, BURN ALL THIS HATERS, THEY ARE ALL OVER CONFIDENT HAHA.
I love all of these Dallas fans who are just so sure that Dallas has it. “Dallas was 2-0 against Miami in the regular season.” Well, they are 0-1 against them in the NBA Finals, which means a lot more than any regular season record. If you want to talk records, kick that one around for a minute.
hey this gonna be a clinch fight for two best teams now in playoffs when it comes to comebacks, remember the both teams comeback in their huge deficit in first half then shift gear in the second half