(REUTERS) – The most impressive player of the NBA playoffs comes up against the most scrutinised trio in professional basketball when Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks take on the Miami Heat in the NBA finals starting tonight.
The best-of-seven series is a repeat of the 2006 finals, which Miami won, coming back from 2-0 down and trailing by 12 points with five minutes left in game three, a bitter experience that Dallas found hard to stomach.
This is a tougher, more resilient and more experienced Mavericks team, who showed their class by sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, while the Heat line-up is a very different one indeed from the team that triumphed five years ago.
Only Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem remain on the Heat roster from 2006 with two-time league MVP LeBron James and six-time All Star Chris Bosh making up the much-vaunted ‘Big Three’ with Wade.
While Wade struggled at times in the Eastern Conference series with the Chicago Bulls, the bumps and bruises of a long season having taken their toll, he has made big plays when it has mattered down the stretch.
Bosh is the most under-rated of the trio and initially found the whole adjustment to a new ‘shared’ way of playing to be a tough one, but he has shown his value in the post-season.
It was James’ decision to move to Miami when he became a free agent last year, that sparked such a huge debate about the appropriateness of one team assembling so much expensive talent on one roster.
James went on television to famously announce that he was leaving Cleveland and, as he put it, “taking my talents to South Beach” and although he has since apologised for the way he handled his exit from Ohio, there are still some who have yet to get over his move.
James has shown his value on both sides of the ball and has matured into his new role in Miami which he describes as being a ‘facilitator’ as much as a finisher.
Nonetheless, despite his all-round contribution, James still made 25.9 points per game in the playoffs and is the number one threat facing the Mavericks. The former Cleveland favourite is arguably the reason why the Heat have been able to produce late shows such as their remarkable comeback against the Bulls in game five.
Dallas are burning with a desire to avenge that bitter loss in 2006 even though their record since against Miami has been one of total domination, winning all ten meetings of the two teams, including both games this regular season.
Towering German Nowitzki, who stands 7-foot (2.13 metres), has been in great form during the playoffs, averaging 28.4 points a game and has been close to automatic from the free throw line.
Nowitzki has sunk baskets from all over the court and there is no obvious candidate on the Heat roster to reduce his effectiveness, with coach Erik Spoelstra likely to look to double-teaming the German.
While Nowitzki’s performances in the post-season have drawn the attention, not surprisingly, given he twice made 40 points in the 4-1 series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, of Jason Kidd, the Mavericks’ 38-year-old point guard, has defied his years with some excellent contributions.
Tyson Chandler showed in the regular season that he could keep the Heat away from easy baskets while Jason Terry’s contributions from the bench will again be vital, but whatever happens, if the playoffs are any guide, it won’t be dull.