When the Miami Heat last met the Dallas Mavericks, the chosen team found itself in dire straits. The Heat's stars called a team meeting following a disappointing 11-point loss in Dallas. The defeat dropped the Heat to 9-8, and before the team's plane had landed back in Miami, coach Erik Spoelstra was on the hot seat.
Heat Vs. Mavericks: Miami Looks For Revenge, 13th Straight Win
Since then, the Heat haven't lost, reeling off 12 straight wins against, largely, the middle-class of the league. (There were some exceptions. Three of the wins came over the Cavaliers and Kings, teams constituting the NBA's impoverished. The Heat also beat the very good Jazz and the apparently good Knicks.) Each of the first nine of the wins in the streak came by 10 more points or more.
The signs of the pending Heat explosion were there before the streak began; in fact, the loss to the Mavericks provided a sign of good things to come. In that game, each of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored at least 22 points and had at least eight rebounds; it was likely Miami's most balanced game of the season. All three stars have played lovely ever since.
Bosh has averaged 18.5 and nine rebounds per game in December on 50 percent shooting. In the month, LeBron is at 25.7 points on 51 percent shooting with 7.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists. Wade has been the most prolific scorer of late, in December averaging 26.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. On the other end, Miami has maintained the No. 2 defense in the NBA, allowing 100.1 points per 100 possessions, behind just Boston (99.4).
The Mavericks have kept pace since the teams last met. Dallas has lost once in its last 15 games, and owns the NBA's third best record (behind Boston and San Antonio). Dirk Nowitzki is still hovering around 25 points a game on insane 56 percent shooting from the floor; you could put Dirk's 2010-11 stats on the back of a Larry Bird basketball card, and no one would be the wiser. Jason Terry (16 points, 4.5 assists) is attempting to win back his Sixth Man of the Year trophy from Jamal Crawford, and Tyson Chandler is well on his way to be relegated to second team All-Defense by only Defender of the Milennium Dwight Howard.
Monday's NBA TV showdown between the Heat and Mavericks doesn't quite add up to that old "irresistable force vs. immovable object" cliche because when these teams are clicking, they are both irresistable forces and immovable objects. So it's like an irresistably immovable object force vs. an irresistably immovable object force. Nonetheless, it should be a fantastic pairing to set the stage for a huge week for the Heat, who visit the Lakers on Christmas Day.
For more on the Heat, check out Peninsula Is Mightier. For Mavericks news and analysis, check out Mavs Moneyball.
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