Bottom Line: Dallas Mavericks Window Closing Fast

 *Your Sports First & BlvdAve Finals Special*

Heat v Mavs Game 4 Preview

As the sun settles in The Lone Star State, the Dallas Mavericks will look to stop the bleeding that the Miami Heat have inflicted. Drawing the first blow against the momentum shifting Mavericks, the Miami Heat suffocated the highly potent Dallas offense down the stretch and took their role players out of the game completely.

Dwayne Wade says night in and night out that the Miami Heat lay their hat on defense. And after the 88-86 shutdown on Dirk & Co. I can believe that they just might. Equipped with 3 of the leagues top 20 scorers and 2 of the leagues top 3 scorers, the Miami Heat have a unique advantage against most teams by relying so heavily on lockdown defense and using their offensive dominance when it matters.

So the plate is definitely full for the Dallas Mavericks. Looking at a 2-1 series tonight at the American Airlines Center for the Mavs and the window for a ring is starting to get alot smaller.

James is Magic, not Jordan

So let's take a look at tonight's key to watch:


The Dallas Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki has to have help-

Here are some of the lines from the bench in Game 3 for the Mav's and Heat:

Miami Heat

Starters                              PTS 

LeBron James                          17
Dwyane Wade                           29
Chris Bosh                            18
Joel Anthony                          2
Mike Bibby                            3 

Reserves                              PTS 

Udonis Haslem                         6
Mario Chalmers                        12
Mike Miller                           0
Juwan Howard                          1
 

Team Totals                           88

 Dallas Mavericks

Starters            PTS
Shawn Marion        10
Dirk Nowitzki       34
Tyson Chandler      5
Jason Kidd          9
DeShawn Stevenson   3
 

Reserves            PTS 

Jason Terry         15
Jose Barea          6
Ian Mahinmi         2
Peja Stojakovic     2
Brian Cardinal      0
Team Totals         86 

The most unflattering vision of this series thus far, is the fact that it looks exactly like the Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat. Dirk Nowitzki has been the only consistent offense and it has been difficult even for him to penetrate or get open looks. Although Dirk's shot is so close to perfect that it rarely matters if he is defended or not, he is finding extra added pressure from defenders who close out during his turnaround fadeaway. Ultimately making it hard for him to get comfortable and in a rhythm. 

The fact that the other 11 players of the Dallas Mavericks have yet to significantly step up in these NBA Finals, enough so that an otherwise serene Dirk Nowitzki went in on Mav's fire-starter and usually consistent spark off the bench guard Jason Terry.

"They keep sticking him [James] on Jet in the fourth quarters and he's been doing a good job," Nowitzki said. "Jet hasn't really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to."

In the Mavericks past two losses against the Heat in these Finals, Terry has been 0-for-7. Although Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has elected to stick LeBron James on Terry much like he did Derrick Rose in the Eastern Conference Finals, Dirk still sees room for opportunity. 

And he's also not shying away from going in on Terry to motivate better play.

"We all know Jet. He's a confident young man," Nowitzki said before Tuesday's shootaround. "He knows we need him to close games out in the fourth.

"I'm not really worried about it. I didn't call him out. I was just stating a fact. He knows he had zero points in [the fourth quarters of] Game 1 and Game 3. He knows that's not going to cut it."

And Terry feels likewise.

Terry's response to Nowitzki's clutch comment: "Truth, truth, it's all truth."

Terry must now answer on the court

It's going to be interesting to see what Dallas does to make sure they don't go into their last game at the AAC Thursday with their backs literally and figuratively against the wall. It will also be just as intriguing to see how Miami responds with an opportunity to truly seize the moment with a team reeling from a devastating defensive style loss. Jason Terry just may have added insult to injury as well by making these statements after being called out by Dirk Nowitzki.


"They know to take me out of the fourth quarter, which they didn't do in Game 2," Terry said of the Heat's choice to turn to James defensively, "then they got a good chance."

Added Terry: "Let's see if [James] can defend me like that for seven games."

Last thing Miami needed in this series was bulletin board material, and especially not LeBron James, who responded after all the hype behind the comments.

"You got to let sleeping dogs lie sometimes. But, maybe he's trying to get himself going and maybe that's what he looks for. You never know guys' motivation and their tactics and everything behind stuff. We know that Jason Terry is a great player and he's going to really try to impose his will tonight and we really have to be ready for that."


And as for James potentially wearing down from guarding Terry for seven games.


"LeBron is 26," Dwyane Wade said.

"He’s not going to wear down and he’s going to look forward to the challenge."

So tune in tonight at 8pm ET on ABC, or whatever local affiliate you have that broadcasts the game, because this is going to be probably one of the hardest fought games of the series.


See more "Chicago, As I See It"  @ chicagonow.com/asiseeit

Also follow me on Twitter @CSF_Inc

Weekend Box Office June 3, 2011 - June 5, 2011

Although not as big an opening weekend as last weeks "Sequel Fueled" memorial day weekend, X-Men: First Class came in as the new # 1 movie at the box office. Sorry for the delay on this news ladies and gents, its been a busy couple of days for the Noemi M.G. boss !!

 Weekend Box Office 

June 3, 2011 - June 5, 2011 

TW	LW	Title	Studio	Weekend		Total
1	-	X-Men: First Class	20th Century Fox	$56,000,000		$56,000,000
2	1	The Hangover Part II	Warner Bros. Pictures	$32,445,000		$186,872,000
3	2	Kung Fu Panda 2	DreamWorks Animation	$24,300,000		$100,440,000
4	3	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films	$18,010,000		$190,257,000
5	4	Bridesmaids	Universal Pictures	$12,128,000		$107,255,000
6	5	Thor	Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios	$4,200,000		$169,073,000
7	6	Fast Five	Universal Pictures	$3,244,000		$202,058,000
8	7	Midnight in Paris	Sony Pictures Classics	$2,916,000		$6,493,000
9	9	Jumping the Broom	TriStar Pictures (Sony)	$865,000		$35,927,000
10	10	Something Borrowed	Warner Bros. Pictures	$835,000		$36,660,000
11	8	Rio	20th Century Fox	$750,000		$136,702,000
12	12	Water for Elephants	20th Century Fox	$700,000		$55,739,000

48 Minutes

2880 seconds = 48 minutes

"It ain't over 'til it's over"

                -Yogi Berra

Not quite the basketball aficionado, but it still remains true. Ain't nothing over, til it's over. And the Miami Heat got a lesson in that Thursday night at home at the American Airline Center against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, losing 93-95, going back to Dallas for 3 games in the best of seven series. 

The game was endearingly close throughout the first half, both teams playing tough defense and setting up half-court offenses. Until the Heat went on a 13-0 run after being up by 2, leading Dallas by as much as 15 points when this happened...

And then for some strange reason a 15-point shift becomes a ballgame. Many of the Dallas Mavericks bench and starters saw Wade and James as taunting them, and what should have been the final blow to any momentum shift became the prime catalyst in one of the most epic comebacks in NBA history.


After that Wade 3, the Mav's put the screws on Miami's scorching hot offense. After coming out of the ensuing timeout with 7:14 left to play in the 4th, the Mav's held the Heat scoreless until the 3 minute mark, and went on a 22-5 run that ultimately closed the gap, took the lead, and won the game.

And you already know who set it off down the stretch, in the clutch.

Dirk.

Dirk Nowitzki scored the final nine points for Dallas in the final 2:44, hitting an 18-footer, then driving to the lane for two for the tie, then took the lead nailing a 25ft three point jumper ( Dirk also made sure to hold up the three fingers a little longer).

Helf merely scoreless throughout the first three quarters, Miami made it hard for Dirk in the past two games, holding him to just 6-18 until the final two minutes of the 4th.

The Big Three on the other hand, not so well down the stretch. Wade went scoreless after that epic three pointer to put the Heat up 15. Ironically enough, Wade still finished as the Heats leading scorer with 36 points. James spotted Miami 2 points from the line, but went 0-4 shooting from the field.

The Heat collapsed, and the Mavericks capitalized.

Game 3 Preview

Here are some things to look at in tonights game:


The King vs The Matrix

Shawn Marion was a mere afterthought going into the series for Miami, understanding his explosiveness and knack for attacking the basket. But Marion showed that his 33yr old legs haven't lost a step, scoring 20 points, and basically being the constant that kept Dallas in the game when it looked otherwise out of hand..

"He's been phenomenal just taking the challenge on both ends," Nowitzki said. "He can get up, he's athletic on the perimeter, he's long, he can contest shots. He's a good rebounder. But also on offense, he's been phenomenal. He's been cutting for us, he's been posting up. He's been getting offensive rebounds, put-backs. So he looks really comfortable right now. He's got a bounce in his step and it's fun to watch."

And that is exactly what LeBron James is going to have to contain. Many wondered why Bosh guarded Dirk in the final seconds with no switch. While Dirk did take Bosh the cup, it's assumed by conventional wisdom that Dirk was more likely to pull up for a jumper of find a slasher to the basket. That slasher would have been Marion who set a screen for Dirk then rolled. And who was guarding him in those final seconds and refused to switch on Dirk?

LeBron James.


Look for LeBron James to spend alot more time on Marion, more than likely playing coach Erik Spoelstra patented "face-up" defense.

The Mav's run primarily zone defense so 1-on-1 matchups are not very realistic. So whoever has the task of guarding LeBron or Wade, just hold on for the ride and try not to fall off.


Momentum

After exorcising their old demons during a brilliant postseason, the Heat saw them return in Game 2. When "The Decision" happened and the Heat had their "welcome party," the stakes for Miami's 2010-11 season were made clear: championship or bust.

 They could have had a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, but James, Wade, and the rest of the team decided to treat the most important game for the Heat since 2006 and the most important game of James' career like an exhibition, and the Heat had their biggest choke of the season in their biggest game.

There's only one way for the Heat to wash this black mark off of their new-look franchise, and it's the same way the Mavericks washed away their collapse against the Blazers in Round 1 -- win the series. 

After the collapse in Game 2 Miami must immediately put that game out of their minds and consider the series tied up 0-0 and not 1-1.

If the Heat do, the Game 2 disaster will become a footnote in history, the last stumbling block the Heat encountered before getting the first of what could be many rings.

But if they fail to win in Dallas or can't close out the series when it goes back to Miami, the Game 2 collapse and the shortcomings that fueled it will haunt the team and the franchise until they do win their first championship ring of the LeBron era.

Sports 1st on BlvdAve prediction:

Miami 110 -- Dallas 113 

Follow me on Twitter @CSF_Inc
Read more "Chicago, As I See It"  @ chicagonow.com/asiseeit

Freshness: Nike Air Max Trainer 1: White – Varsity Royal – Volt

About six weeks ago, Sneaker News showed you images of a new Nike Air Max Trainer 1+ that’d just hit NikeStore.

The model was mostly white with Varsity Royal and Volt that drew comparisons to the upcoming LeBron 8 V/2 Low ‘Sprite’.

So when a slightly different version just popped up with the same Style code, we had to get to the bottom of the situation.

And as it turns out, the nearly-oppositely blocked edition pictured on their site is actually a sample model nixed in favor of the production model we showed you in the NikeStore drop.

Check through the photos, let us know if you like the production model more than the sample, and if so be aware that’s what you’ll receive when you order from Eastbay.

Nas speaks on new album "Life Is Good" !!!

Nas talked to DJ Envy recently to give some info on his new album and what to expect from it. Being Nas fans, we cant wait to here some new Nas ish !!! Take a look at the clip below:

Tags:
Funk Flex Full Throttle

In case you missed it: Cory Gunz Son Of A Gun Finale

Last night (Thursday) Cory Gunz show "Son of a Gun" wrapped up with an hour long season finale. For Cory Gunz fans you got a small glimpse into the life of one of rap's rising young gunz (pun intended lol) and the steps he's taken to ensure success in his career. What did you guys think of the show ?? Let BlvdAve know your thoughts !!

Tags:
Son Of A Gun, MTV Shows

Tags:
Son Of A Gun, MTV Shows