Am I hoping picking against the Mavs will give them some reverse mojo like it has for the first 3 rounds of the playoffs? Yes.
Do I think the Mavs will actually win the NBA Finals? No.
Unfortunately, the Miami Heat, who this year officially took the title of sports villains in so resounding a way only the Hitler's 1938 Olympic Team, Soviet Union Hockey team, the late 80s and early 90s Pistons and the 2007 Patriots were bigger villains.
Though I, too, have a venomous hate for the Miami Heat, I hope the last round put to rest who deserved the NBA MVP this year. Lebron James is by far and away the best player in the league, and if he adds a title to his resume this year, he will be a long ways down the road to being a Top 10 NBA Player of All-Time.
James does not only do everything on the court well (except shoot 3s, as him, Dwayne Wade and Derrick Rose, all MVP candidates this season, seem to have a disease that because they can shoot inside well that they can shoot the 3 well, too.... and they can't,) everything he does on the court well, he does better than anyone else.
If he wanted to be a better passer than Rondo, he could.
If he wanted to score about 30 a game like Durant, he could.
If he wanted to rebound the ball the whole game and have offenses plan around him like Howard, he could.
And if he wanted to shut down your best player offensively, 1 through 5, he could.
He is the Magic Johnson if this generation, a player who was once inserted as a rookie into a Finals game to play center instead of his natural position at point guard. Lebron is the same type of player.
Add to the mix that Wade has been his incredibly efficient self, and that Bosh has done enough to win 2 or 3 games for the Heat this postseason by himself and Miami looks close to unbeatable.
Miami also made the upgrade of starting Joel Anthony over Zydrunas Ilguaskas, and, if they are smart, they will start Chalmers over a struggling Bibby (though it seems unlikely they will actually do this.) Having Udonis Haslim back will be a small bolster to their bench as well.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are old. So old. And I swear, even though I have been saying this the whole postseason, it will catch up with them.
Nowitzki will be his regular self this series, but Bosh should be able to prevent him from going completely off, and the ability of both Wade and Lebron dig down against Nowitzki and recover against their own man quickly should play a big role in frustrating the big German.
Wade and Lebron's defense also should be frustrating to one of the other main reasons the Mavericks are winning: the incredible shooting of Peja Stojokovic and Jason Terry off the bench.
The one place I see an advantage for Dallas is the point guard position in the matchup between Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby. Bibby cannot shoot the ball. He cannot play defense. And he cannot rebound. Kidd is going to kill him this series, and hopefully that will finally put to bed for Spoelstra who his starting point guard should be next season.
I do not see this series as being close. If the Bulls and Celtics could not win 2 games against the Heat, I cannot imagine the Mavs winning two.
Prediction: Heat in 5
Do I think the Mavs will actually win the NBA Finals? No.
Unfortunately, the Miami Heat, who this year officially took the title of sports villains in so resounding a way only the Hitler's 1938 Olympic Team, Soviet Union Hockey team, the late 80s and early 90s Pistons and the 2007 Patriots were bigger villains.
Though I, too, have a venomous hate for the Miami Heat, I hope the last round put to rest who deserved the NBA MVP this year. Lebron James is by far and away the best player in the league, and if he adds a title to his resume this year, he will be a long ways down the road to being a Top 10 NBA Player of All-Time.
James does not only do everything on the court well (except shoot 3s, as him, Dwayne Wade and Derrick Rose, all MVP candidates this season, seem to have a disease that because they can shoot inside well that they can shoot the 3 well, too.... and they can't,) everything he does on the court well, he does better than anyone else.
If he wanted to be a better passer than Rondo, he could.
If he wanted to score about 30 a game like Durant, he could.
If he wanted to rebound the ball the whole game and have offenses plan around him like Howard, he could.
And if he wanted to shut down your best player offensively, 1 through 5, he could.
He is the Magic Johnson if this generation, a player who was once inserted as a rookie into a Finals game to play center instead of his natural position at point guard. Lebron is the same type of player.
Add to the mix that Wade has been his incredibly efficient self, and that Bosh has done enough to win 2 or 3 games for the Heat this postseason by himself and Miami looks close to unbeatable.
Miami also made the upgrade of starting Joel Anthony over Zydrunas Ilguaskas, and, if they are smart, they will start Chalmers over a struggling Bibby (though it seems unlikely they will actually do this.) Having Udonis Haslim back will be a small bolster to their bench as well.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are old. So old. And I swear, even though I have been saying this the whole postseason, it will catch up with them.
Nowitzki will be his regular self this series, but Bosh should be able to prevent him from going completely off, and the ability of both Wade and Lebron dig down against Nowitzki and recover against their own man quickly should play a big role in frustrating the big German.
Wade and Lebron's defense also should be frustrating to one of the other main reasons the Mavericks are winning: the incredible shooting of Peja Stojokovic and Jason Terry off the bench.
The one place I see an advantage for Dallas is the point guard position in the matchup between Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby. Bibby cannot shoot the ball. He cannot play defense. And he cannot rebound. Kidd is going to kill him this series, and hopefully that will finally put to bed for Spoelstra who his starting point guard should be next season.
I do not see this series as being close. If the Bulls and Celtics could not win 2 games against the Heat, I cannot imagine the Mavs winning two.
Prediction: Heat in 5
