Heat at Mavericks
THE STORY: If it wasn’t embarrassing enough for the Miami Heat to lose in the NBA Finals after bringing in LeBron James and Chris Bosh for the specific purpose of winning a championship, now they have to start over by watching the Dallas Mavericks raise the championship banner. The Mavericks, who downed the Heat in six games last June for their first ever NBA title, will hold a ceremony before hosting Miami in the Christmas Day opener. James, who was loudly criticized for his performance in that series, reportedly spent the summer and extended break working on a post game and trying to recover some of the swagger that was absent in the fourth quarter of nearly every finals game. Miami president Pat Reilly was busy as well, locking coach Eric Spoelstra up with a long-term contract and adding veterans Shane Battier and Eddy Curry to the roster. Dallas has seen a few of its championship pieces leave town - most notably center Tyson Chandler - but traded for Lamar Odom and expects to defend its title.
TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC, TSN
ABOUT THE HEAT (2010-11: 58-24): James, who averaged 26.7 points in the 2010-11 regular season, slumped to 17.8 in the finals and often looked timid with the ball in the fourth quarter. He committed six turnovers in the decisive Game 6. But after playing the villains all of last season, James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade are no longer alone in the “super team” game and should have some of the pressure off. Wade is expected to assume more of the ball-handling responsibilities with Mike Bibby gone.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (2010-11: 57-25): No one expected Dallas to cruise through the playoffs last season. But Dirk Nowitzki turned in a performance for the ages, averaging 27.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in the playoffs while shooting 94.1 percent from the free throw line and 46 percent from beyond the arc. The Mavericks will miss Chandler on the inside and did not get any younger when they lost J.J. Barea and brought in Odom and Vince Carter.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dallas’ projected starting lineup has an average age of 34, with top reserves Jason Terry and Odom each over 32.
2. Nowitzki recorded a double-double in four of the last five games against Miami last June.
3. James has averaged 26.9 points in 16 career regular season games against the Mavericks.