I have won my last 9 or 10 straight nba threads and this is gonna keep the streak alive. I told everyone how Miami would win game 1 and in Paco's bet thread I told everyone to wait until game 2 to take Dallas because they are the more cerebral team and Rick is better with adjustments.
Everyone knows game 2 is the coaches game and not game 3. As I watched a rerun of game 2, I decided that there was no doubt in my mind Miami would win game 3.
The adjustments for Miami are pretty simple. I don't even expect anything out of Miami's bench in this game--I expect a massive game from Lebron and Wade. Lebron, particularly, was driving to the basket AT WILL during the course of game 1 and showed signs of it in game 2 before he started relying on his jump shot. James can blow by Marion at any time, literally. Marion had his moment in the last game. He will be a non factor in game 3 of this series and he will allow Lebron to get to the rim at will. It really is a much bigger mismatch than even I anticipated. The same thing with Wade. I knew Kidd and Stevenson would both guard Wade in this series, but RIck is playing with fire allowing Kidd to guard Wade during big possessions in the game. That will bite him in the ass next game--Kidd is stubborn- he is no where near the defender that Stevenson is, yet feels obligated to take on the challenge for some reason.
Dirk took a lot of poor shots in the first half, and quite frankly, he was disrupted by Joel Anthony and Haslem. Dirk really didn't even get going until the 4th quarter of last game, when the Heat started taking possessions off, letting Chalmers and Mike Miller take numerous shots in the 4th quarter. Additionally, D Wade took only 2 shots in the last 6 minutes of the game (both which were not quality looks). Lebron was being passive as well.
I predicted Bosh would be average at best in this series. So far he was 5/18 in game 1 and 4/16 in game 2. I knew Tyson Chandler would shut down Bosh. However, when Lebron and Wade dictate the pace right from the beginning of this game which I Know for a fact will happen, Chandler will slowly start to leave Bosh to help clog the paint and he'll get that midrange jumper all game. I expect him to go 9/16ish from the field and knock down that jumper. Mike Bibby played well in the last game and maybe he's finally found his rhythm.
Either way, game 3 is a starters game. This is gonna be just like game 3 last year when LA went into Boston and won. Bryant dropped around 40 in that game. The only people that stepped up were Bryant Gasol and Fisher for the most part. Its a starters game. Dallas' bench might play well but it won't matter.
Miami's defense was laughable in the last game. They gave only 80% in the 4th quarter. When they were trying, Dallas got a shot clock violation and 2 turnovers, before the team took it easy after that Wade 3 to put them up by 15. The thing is Dallas did not play as bad as people think. They have shot the ball well from 3 in both games, and Miami will smother Dallas's shooters in this game. This is an ALL OUT kind of game, and I'll take athleticism and defense over ball movement in a game of this intensity any day.
I expect Dallas to probably win game 4 and perhaps 5, but they are not winning game 3. Miami will come into Dallas and dominate this game from start to finish. Dallas will be trailing the entire game- you will see.
I'm going to be taking Miami ML but my guy isn't giving any spreads on the game until Sunday morning. I know for a fact he is leaning Heat and everyone on this site knows how sharp that guy is. If he doesn't have a good line I will play it at thegreek or BetOnline.
I don't need the 3 points, I'm gonna take the ML and I'll post it when I do. It will be for at least $400