LMAO @ this thread - one has already been shut down and I say this one will follow suit. FWIW, I think it is impossible for the Thunder to come back although our Rockets had to do what the Thunder is faced with back in the '95 playoffs against the Suns (the infamous Jake O'Donnell series). As for the Bulls, since they get Game 5 in Chicago as well as the possible Game 7, they have a much better chance of pulling the comeback.
at this point it is a legit thread. For the purposes of being fair we should make a thunder-bulls, thunder-heat, bulls-mavs thread, and then we can all just talk in this thread. So I think lebron will gurard dirk, and it will come down to whether terry,kidd,stoyavic can hit the outside shots.. To counter that too much wade, and too much bosh along with too much lebron, will be just too much. Dirk may go off in one game and same for the three point shooters of dallas but in the end a 7 game series will be too much for the mavs. My safe betting side says 2 wins for dallas so heat in 6 but I would not be surprised at all if heat lose first game then rattle off 4 in a row .. or even a sweep by heat... just don't see nowitzski carrying the team all the way. Dirk is a darn good player but just don't see it happening. I'm looking forward to seeing the heat get pummeled..
LeBron isn't going to be guarding Dirk, except maybe in spots. They'll either go with Bosh/Haslem or Anthony/Haslem.
I think that it is going to be a closer series than people here seem to think it will be. Dallas has some major advantages: -Experience, a team full of players who have paid their dues, been faced with a ton of adversity and are hungry. -The way Dirk has been playing, I am not sure that anybody or any defense can slow him down (last top 5 defense they faced in this postseason, they swept, and that defense is built on bigs/length/size). He is a man on a mission. -Bench/depth. You may laugh this off as unimportant but in a long draining series, it can become key. -They seem to be more composed. No premature (or out of place) celebrations, they are focused on one thing and one thing only. Once again, they are hungry, they want it more. Hopefully that translates to them getting it. They need to: -Contain LeBron and Wade. They can't stop either, let alone both, but they just need to keep them in check (hopefully Butler is healthy so they have another body to throw at them, else they would have to make do with Marion/Stevenson/Kidd. Their defense is better than people give them credit for, especially with Carlilse/Casey at the helm). Be physical and mix it up, throw different defenders and different defenses at them. Dallas has done a solid job with that this postseason, just need to continue doing it and hope that it works. -Dirk needs to get his, if he continues playing like he has this entire postseason, then Dallas has a legit chance. This is probably the biggest key to the series.
Of course it would be an upset, esp. with the Heat having HCA. Then again, Dallas > Lakers was a huge upset too.
I am hoping that Nowitzki remembers how he got robbed in '06 and uses it as motivation to destroy (lets call a spade a spade, that series was as fixed, I am worried that this one might be as well, Dallas needs to play flawless basketball).
Probably Miami in 6. Dallas / Dirk would have to play a series for the ages to overcome the 1 vs 2.5 superstars discrepancy.
It is an uphill battle for Dallas. Miami has the talent advantage, homecourt advantage and they will probably have the refs on their side. As stated above, Dallas needs to play near flawless basketball, Dirk needs to continue doing what he has been doing this postseason and their perimeter defense must be as perfect as it possibly can (they do have the talent, doubt they can stop one or both but they need to bother both). Just saying that I think that it will be a better series than people seem to think that it will be.
Miami is 8-0 at home so far in the playoffs, so I don't see them losing the first 2 games. Which means Dallas will have to beat Miami at home, to have any shot at winning.
Dallas has won 5 road games in a row over Portland, LA, and OKC. They've lost 1 home game. They're not chopped liver.
