If this win had come only a couple months earlier, the Miami Heat might had managed to win their first NBA Championship since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwayne Wade at South Beach, in the overhyped transaction of the season. Then again, it would be up to one Dirk Nowitzki and a group of motivated man from the Western Conference to put an end to the showoffs and claim the team’s first NBA Championship. This time around, and after missing the first 16 games of the regular season because of the extended NBA Lockout between team owners and the players union, the Miami Heat manhandled the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center for a 105-94 win that in paper looks much closer than what it really was. I’m not really sure if this one counts as a revenge, or if, for that matter, this game means anything than what it is: the first win of the season for the revamp Miami Heat, or the first loss of the season for the NBA defending Champions, the Dallas Mavericks. Because despite breaking down the Mavericks defense a couple times and making it look just a bit too easy, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade knew very well that this was not the team that had defeated them in the NBA Finals earlier this summer. Tyson Chandler was gone, so was the backup point guard J.J. Barea. Sure enough they worked hard to find some talent right after the extended lockout kicked in, but despite including players like Vince Carter, Lamar Odom and Delonte West into the lineup, it’s quite evident that there is still much work to be done here. Both LeBron James and Dwayne Wade teamed up to bring on the pain upon the Mavericks. As a matter of fact, by the third quarter, the Heat had managed to put on a 35-point hiatus between them and the home team. The Mavericks reserves pulled their game together in the fourth quarter to make the 11-point deficit look much more respectable. But there was no doubt about it, this game was all about Miami. The Mavericks didn’t really ever had a good chance of getting ahead. LeBron James guided the Miami Heat with 37 points, 10 boards and 6 assists. Wade pitch in 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. It is still a little too early to set off the panic alarm at Dallas. Even though this early blowout looked very bad, it’s not that bad for a defending champion. As a matter of fact, when the Miami Heat came into the 2006-07 season as the defending champions they dropped behind 42 points against the Chicago Bulls. The Mavericks fans keep on supporting their squad. This is actually the 400th regular season game that has been sold out at Dallas. And it seems that their fans are going to cut them some slack, and allow the Mavs to get their game together. Their defense was just helpless at moments. Miami went on a 12-0 run late in the first quarter, a 15-1 spurt in the second quarter, then the 14-0 binge in the third period. The Mavericks simply had no reaction, no way to get back on the game. And that’s not going to cut it if they have any chance of defending their title this season.
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