Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks Preview: Time to step it up

Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat
Thursday, 3/29/12, 8:00 PM EST, TV:  TNT
Opening Point Spread:  Miami -8.5
Current Betting Line:  Miami -8
Opening Total:  189
Current Total:  188.5
                                                                                                                                                                 

Dallas enters tonight’s 2011 NBA finals rematch on a two-game win streak that includes a 90-81 win over the Houston Rockets as seven-point home favorites on Tuesday night. The Mavericks will be looking to gain revenge from dropping a 105-94 decision as 4.5-point home underdogs to the Miami Heat in their season opener on Christmas Day.  “A bad taste in our mouth,” commented Mavericks guard Jason Terry about that result. The franchise has still managed to win 14 of the last 15 regular-season meetings in the series. Dallas is 10-5 ATS as an underdog this year and the “under” is 8-7 in that situation.

The Mavericks are still led by the offensive play of All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 21 points versus the Rockets and leads the team in averaging 21.0 points per game. Dallas has registered a dismal 10-14 record on the road this season, but is 3-2 in that situation against Eastern Conference opponents. There’s no question that head coach Rick Carlisle is going to mention the previous meeting between these two NBA heavyweights before taking the floor tonight. “We’ve got to think back to Christmas Day because that was a miserable experience for us,” Carlisle stated earlier this week.

Miami returns home after dropping the last two games on a three-game road trip, including a 105-90 loss to the Indiana Pacers as 3.5-point favorites last time out. The Heat have gone “under” the total in five of their last six games, as the offense has sputtered. Since March 2, the team ranks 25th in the league in averaging just 93.1 points per game, which is far off from its 103.8 points it averaged before that point in time during the 2011-12 campaign. Miami is 4-1 ATS as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points this year.

The Heat will still have revenge on their minds from losing in the finals last year to the Mavericks despite winning the first meeting this year. Miami is 20-2 overall when playing at the AmericanAirlines Arena this year, including a spotless 5-0 mark versus Western Conference teams.  Star forward LeBron James will be playing with a minor injury to his non-shooting hand, as he dislocated the ring finger on his left against the Pacers.

Bettors will likely back the Mavericks due to their 13-3-1 ATS mark in Miami, while the Heat are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.

Article courtesy of http://www.madduxsports.com
Image manipulation and restoration courtesy of Alex T Design

The boys have had a few bad games, probably a bad couple of weeks. Since All-Star break the team hasn't been seen to their full potential, tonight would be the perfect launch to get back where they belong, beating the defending champs. Tonight is the night!! ~ A.T.

Dwyane Wade Heated: The Silent Forth Quarter

For the first time in Dwyane Wade's career, he returned to the bench "shotless" in the fourth quarter.
                                                                                                                                                                 

 Dwyane Wade didn't want to comment about the offense after losing to Oklahoma City on Sunday.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Wade told reporters.

Why? It's hard to know precisely why Wade avoided elaborating further, but there's no question that this might have something to do with it:

For the first time in Wade's career, he didn't take a shot from the floor or a free throw in the fourth quarter (minimum five minutes of playing time).

No shots, no freebies from the charity stripe, not even a turnover. Wade didn't "use" a possession all quarter with a field goal attempt, free throw attempt or a turnover, something he hasn't done in the 496 fourth quarters that qualified. Wade normally uses 30.2 percent of the Heat's possessions -- or about one every three plays -- while on the floor in the fourth quarter this season, but his usage rate was a stunning 0.0 percent on Sunday.

How could that happen?

There were a variety of factors. For starters, Wade wasn't the primary ball-handler in the fourth quarter. LeBron James dribbled the ball up the floor as the Heat's point guard down the stretch, taking on the playmaker role when the Heat were down by double-digits. If Wade had taken over point guard duties, there's little doubt that he would have at least taken a shot or two as he surveyed the defense. Wade did dribble the ball up the floor on one occasion, but tossed it to James as soon as he crossed halfcourt and James hit a mid-range jumper.

Secondly, it's not as if the Heat deliberately stonewalled their superstar. Wade passed off plenty of opportunities to score, instead letting his teammates take the shot. On multiple occasions down the stretch, you could see Wade actively pointing toward Shane Battier on the wing, a signal for James or Chris Bosh to give Battier the ball for a 3-point attempt. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

That doesn't mean Wade didn't want the ball. Actually, on one particularly fastbreak opportunity, as our own Brian Windhorst noted, Wade ran past James Harden on the right wing and James failed to feed him the ball. Sure, James would have had to thread the needle to complete the pass, but that hasn't stopped James before. Wade was visibly frustrated that the play wasn't made.

Credit the Thunder defense for aggressively swarming James and Wade on the ball. On the occasions that Wade did try to initiate the offense, the Thunder used their length and activity to force a pass to a weaker scorer (this is what I call the Thunder's "Operation: Anyone But Wade Or LeBron" strategy). Also, the Thunder didn't turn the ball over very often, which is the best way to keep Wade at bay.

Furthermore, the X's-and-O's often called for Wade standing on the wing, watching James initiate pick-and-rolls on the other side of the floor. This was an issue in opening months of the Big Three era and it was striking to see the loitering and passivity come again on the national stage. Erik Spoelstra has made it a point to limit his play calls and emphasize improvisational and free-flowing basketball this season. This is the downside to that laissez-faire coaching philosophy.

To be sure, the Heat will review the game film and try to correct their late-game issues from Sunday. Getting one of the most unstoppable attackers fully invested and active in the offense shouldn't be a problem, but it was against the Thunder. One game isn't enough of a sample size to call it a trend so it's probably nothing more than a statistical anomaly.

But the good thing about a condensed season is that we don't have to wait that long to test that theory; the Heat play the Pacers in just a few hours.

Image courtesy of Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images, Enhanced and manipulated by: Alex T Design
Article courtesy of Tom Haberstroh: ESPN.com

So where will the Heat have their heads tonight facing the Indiana Pacers? How much is this going to affect their game and into the playoffs? As the "preview of the finals", everyone dubbed last nights match-up, comes to a close, you have to stop and think...Is the Heat worthy of an NBA championship, or is this OKC's time to shine...you decide, and I'll see you in the playoffs. ~ A.T.

OKC Thunder rebound Derek Fisher just in time

Fisher, who was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets and then released, arrived in Oklahoma to sign for the rest of the season with the Thunder. Wednesday night, he was in uniform wearing No. 37 — same as his age — vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.

"There were specific things I was looking for, the type of players, coaches, atmosphere and everything fit here with what I wanted to be a part of," Fisher said. "When you can be a part of something special you have to do it."

The Thunder lost backup Eric Maynor to a season-ending right knee injury Jan. 7. Though Maynor averaged 4.2 points a game, he had given them a steady ball-handler. Fisher averaged 5.9 points — the lowest since his second season in 1997-98 — with the Lakers. He never played for the Rockets.

He won five NBA championships with the Lakers, but Fisher's value goes deeper than numbers. The president of the players' union, he's considered a positive locker room presence which could pay dividends with a young team such as Oklahoma City.

After Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak traded him, he lamented the loss of Fisher, who could be a buffer between Kobe Bryant's periodic abrasiveness with teammates.

Hickson to Portland: In another move, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired forward J.J. Hickson off waivers. Hickson was bought out by the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. To make room, the Blazers waived 6-11 center Mehmet Okur, who they acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Nets last week. Okur has played in only 17 games.

Article courtesy of http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball

Image courtesy of Alex T Design

NCAA March Madness: "Brackets, to go with an expert or not..."

Predictions from various sports experts:

My Picks, and yes upsets are key:

You know it. The second Monday morning of March, you get to your desk, everyone’s talking about the bagels being a little stale in the commissary, and Chuck in Sales swings by and drops off a blank NCAA tournament bracket on your desk. “Ten bucks, buddy. Good luck.”

For an hour, you blow off your morning meetings and fail to return any incoming emails as you nervously search all the sports web sites, trying to learn something, anything about New Mexico’s front-court and Murray State’s out-of-conference schedule.

You take your pen out, only to quickly switch over to a pencil. There will be changes. Many. And nothing is final until Thursday.Everyone’s talking about their brackets at the water cooler and you’re just trying your damndest to keep it all straight. Wait, Florida State beat North Carolina by 30 points this season? Saint Mary’s beat Gonzaga in their conference tournament? There’s just too much to compute and comprehend at once.

A lot of the so-called experts on TV will be making “bold” predictions in their Final Four brackets over the coming days. It’ll be tempting to blindly trust their counsel, to follow those Hi-Liter pens like magic wands and assume that the guys in suits who talk sports know more than you do when it comes to filling these brackets out.

But guess what? They don’t...

Continued Article courtesy of http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/
Peter Schrager

Now i went with the advice of a friend on not going with the "experts" because they are usually wrong on a lot of match-ups. Go with upsets and teams that cause them. Make smart moves and really think about your next decision. Studying the teams and match-ups should help and of course enjoy the games, should be intense! ~ A.T.

NBA To Consider Allowing Advertisements On Jerseys...Really?

The NBA board of governors will vote in April whether to allow advertising on uniforms, according to Sporting News.

Placing advertising on uniforms has become common place on professional sports teams overseas, however, it has yet to make a significant appearance in American sports aside from NASCAR.

“Obviously, it’s a league decision, but as someone who spent seven years at NASCAR, I know the value of putting a brand on the playing field and the uniform, so it is certainly something I would support,” New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark told the Sporting News. “You can monetize this in ways you can’t monetize any other kind of marketing inventory. And, of course, we’re in the No. 1 market in the country, so …”

According to Sporting News, some NBA executives are waiting to see how much potential revenue could be gained from opening up jersey’s as a potential place to advertise before making their decision. If that number is high enough, it could sway some to take the potential public relations hit in turn for the increased revenue.

Article courtesy of http://tracking.si.com/
Image courtesy of Alex T Design

Now in my opinion we all saw this coming. Ads will run the world and people will make that extra dollar every time a logo is flashed or in this instance a player dunks with the respected product/service backing them up. NBA will do anything for the money, i mean come on...did we all forget about the lockout. ~A.T.

Where Amazing Happens: MVP Lebron James runs over Portland

LeBron James just loves his visits to Portland, and after scoring 38 in another Miami Heat double digit win, he has an average of 38.8 points in his last five visits to face the Blazers. Combined with Dwyane Wade’s 33, the Heat rolled to their ninth straight double digit victory, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-93.

Chris Bosh wasn’t present, so the Heat’s remaining big two just stepped up. James finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals, becoming the first player since individual turnovers have been recorded to finish with at least a 35-10-5-5 and no turnovers. But it wasn’t just his numbers in another MVP like performance, this time without the ass-slapping that followed like last year in the midst of all the jeers.

James guarded everyone, including Marcus Camby early on, showing just how far he’s come as a defensive player, and how much the All-Star BS hasn’t affected him. When James and Wade are this good, there’s no real need for anyone to show his crunch time skills. Now, the Heat are one double digit win shy of tying the NBA record of 10 such wins, something which has been done three times, most recently by the Houston Rockets in the 2007-2008.

For the Blazers, who have been continuing to slip recently, it’s turned into an 18-18 season, and watching how much better the Heat were makes you think of bad luck and how LaMarcus Aldridge, as good as he is, finishing with 20 points, was a bit too soft in a game the Blazers needed extra toughness while Camby struggled to show any kind of dominance in the paint. A un-retired Brandon Roy, an un-cursed Greg Oden. Things could have been different. But Portland’s problems of being unable to breakout of mediocrity shouldn’t trouble the Heat. They’re on a mission of winning the title, and their ability to overcome the setbacks or injuries this season, which have plagued to some degree each and every one of their three gems, just might mean they’ll be stronger come the playoffs.

They had quite a few rough patches last season, even before the fourth quarter collapses in the finals. The inability to beat the Bulls, the losing streaks mid-season seemed oh so tragic about a year ago. They aren’t happening now because the Heat learned from that, and they’re simply a better team. With Dwyane Wade back in expected form, it’s hard to argue they are the best in the league right now.

Article courtesy of  http://sportige.com
Image courtesy of Alex T Design

NBA Rumors: Are the Mavericks Looking to Bring Back Steve Nash?

It is well documented that the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks have interest in signing both center Dwight Howard and point guard Deron Williams this offseason. If their attempts should be unsuccessful, however, a reunion with point guard Steve Nash is certainly possible. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Mavs could very well bring Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, back to the city where he got his start. Nash is reportedly great friends with Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki, so it's likely that the interest would be mutual.

Nash bolted for the Phoenix Suns following the 2003-04 season, as Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was unwilling to sign him to the monster contract that the Suns were. While Nash hasn't brought a title to Phoenix, the signing has obviously been a great one for the Suns. Certainly Cuban has to realize his mistake and would love to rectify it by bringing Nash back, provided neither Howard nor Williams are attainable. Jason Kidd is clearly in the twilight of his career, so Nash would be a major upgrade for the Mavs as he continues to play All-Star basketball.

The Mavericks have played better as of late as they are 21-15 and in sixth in the Western Conference, but they could use a shot in the arm moving forward. Nash isn't an option this season, but the prospect of pairing him with Nowitzki once again next year has to be tantalizing for Mavericks fans.

Even at the age of 38, Nash is leading the league in assists with nearly 11 per contest, while shooting a career-best 54 percent from the field. Nash truly can do it all as he is a master distributor, a great three-point shooter, one of the league's best free-throw shooters and capable of driving to the basket as well.

It isn't often that an owner gets a chance to right a wrong, but it appears as though Cuban will have such a chance this offseason. It's understandable why Howard and Williams are the main priorities since they're younger players who can be franchise cornerstones for years to come, but signing Nash would be more of a feel-good move.On top of that, Nash may give them the best chance to win next year. Nash is the unquestioned master of the pick and roll, so it's crazy to think what he and Nowitzki could create together, especially since Nowitzki is now a wily veteran.

Not only would the signing be great for the Mavs, but it would work for Nash, too. I'm sure Nash wishes that things could have ended better for him in Dallas, but he has a chance to finish what he started. The Suns are clearly in rebuild mode, so signing with the Mavericks could be Nash's best and last chance to win a title.The Mavs have a lot of balls in the air as far as free agency goes, so it's unclear whether bringing back Nash is in the cards. If Dallas does decide to do it, though, Nash certainly won't disappoint.

Article courtesy of Bleacher Report 
By Mike Chiari (Featured Columnist) on March 1, 2012