How Miami escaped with game 1, will the same happen in game 2?
Game 1 of the 2011 NBA finals was a close and gritty game all the way up until the end. Both teams played great defense as explained by the poor field goal percentages from both teams: Dallas shot .373 percent from the floor and Miami shot .388. The Miami Heat are a much bigger and taller team and it clearly showed through rebounding. The Dallas Mavs got severely out-rebounded on the offensive and defensive end. Every crucial board just seemed to land in the hands of a Miami Heat player en route to 46 total team rebounds as opposed to Dallas’ team total of 36. If Dallas is to survive this series and shock the world in the finals, they are going to have to do a much better job on the glass.
Miami did not even play their best game and still wound up with the big game 1 win. In Dallas’ defense however, they did not play their best game either. J.J. Barea missed several uncontested, knockdown shots and layups that he usually makes. Jason Terry hit a couple of big shots, but not enough off the bench to make a true difference. In 14 minutes of play, Peja Stojakovic went 0-3 from beyond the arc; again, all uncontested looks. Brendan Haywood even boinked a dunk; uncontested! He did however make up for that debacle at the free throw line as he was fouled late on the play and made both free throw attempts.
There was a point during the second quarter where Dallas virtually went on their only run of the game and took an eight point lead which was capped by a dagger trey ball from DeShawn Stevenson. After Erik Spoelstra called a timeout, Miami quickly responded and killed any momentum Dallas had by two quick fast break layups and an “and 1” from Dwayne Wade. Needless to say, the Dallas momentum was short-lived.
The fact of the matter here is that in game 1 of this finals series, the Dallas Mavericks played uncharacteristic of themselves. Missing wide open, uncontested jumpers and layups is just not something that they do on a consistent and regular basis. The defense played amazing and that is the only reason game 1 did not get away from them in blowout fashion.
The game began to get away from Dallas in the second half once Dwayne Wade decided to step up and start some scoring, hitting clutch mid-range jumpers as the Dallas defense gave him way too much space to operate. Mario Chalmers was also big in this game as he hit some clutch momentum shifting three pointers, going 3-7 beyond the arc. The Miami Heat showed exactly why they are the favorites to win this series as they did not even play their best game. We all know what they are capable of doing, especially when they have the strength of the crowd at their back! This is what NBA basketball is all about. Game 2 should be a much different story offensively for Dallas and will make for an exciting outcome; we will see how both teams adjust.
Tags: 2011 NBA Finals, basketball finals, chris bosh, dallas mavericks, dirk nowitzki, dwayne wade, finals, game 1, game 1 recap, game 1 winner, LeBron James, miami heat, NBA Finals
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