NBA Finals Preview"Well after great season both conference winners match up to win the NBA Trophy this year the Dallas Mavericks will have to defeat the NBA Champions of last year the Philadelphia 76ers. They have made their way to the Finals showing that last year was not a conincidence. Both teams play well in the first part of the season and they keep their level of play after the All Star Game."
How they got to the FinalsDallas Mavericks [54-28] | W-L | Home | Away | Straight W | Straight L |
1st Half | 28-13 | 13-8 | 15-5 | 5 | 3 |
2nd Half | 26-15 | 12-9 | 14-6 | 5 | 2 |
Season | 54-28 | 25-17 | 29-11 | 5 | 3 |
"The Mavericks finished this year season with a good record as they got more than 50 wins securing the second place in the Western Conference. As the Playoffs started they had a 8-0 run as they sweep the Seattle Supersonics and the Denver Nuggets but as they got to the Conference Finals they faced the Sacramento Kings. Last year the Kings were able to get to the Finals but now the Mavs fight back to get to the Finals. After 4 games the Mavs were 3-1 but the Kings got Game 5 with a 20 point lead. In game 6 the Dallas Mavericks crush the Kings by 32 points."
Philadelphia 76ers [67-15] | W-L | Home | Away | Straight W | Straight L |
1st Half | 34-7 | 14-4 | 19-3 | 20 | - |
2nd Half | 33-8 | 20-4 | 14-4 | 24 | - |
Season | 67 | 24-8 | 33-7 | 44 | - |
"After winning last year trophy the 76ers didn’t relay on their backs instead the team worked all the summer to improve their game. After 1 month into the season the team was playing very similar to last year but the coach and team manager arranged some changes to put more energy to this team. They trade their main player Andre Iguodala and Kenny Thomas to Orlando and they got Dwight Howard and J.Nelson. The trade obviously was on 76ers side as they got an impressive 44 straight wins setting a NBA record for most straight wins. They finished first in the Eastern Conference and in the league. In the Playoffs they beat the Pacers in 5 Games. In the second round they pass the Magics in 6 Games. In the Conference Finals they faced the Miami Heat that were eliminated in 6 Games. Now they are in the Finals for the second time."
Mavericks vs. 76ersTeam Production"The Mavericks and the 76ers play almost equal as they got almost the same numbers but when they played against each other the 76ers got better numbers. As a result the series was tie with one game for each other. The first time they meet the 76ers didn’t have Howard or Nelson and they were adjusting they style as the season was starting. In the second match up the 76ers had Howard in the starting five and they were back from the 44 straight games win as a result they got the game on their side."
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| Season | Playoffs | vs Mavs | | Season | Playoffs | vs 76ers |
PPG | 105.5 | 102.9 | 104.5 | | 94.8 | 99 | 99 |
RPG | 46.6 | 45.8 | 50 | | 43.6 | 41.4 | 48 |
ORPG | 14.6 | 13.8 | 18 | | 12.8 | 11.7 | 10.5 |
DRPG | 32.0 | 31.9 | 18.0 | | 30.7 | 29.6 | 37.5 |
APG | 26.1 | 24.5 | 25.5 | | 22.1 | 23.7 | 16.5 |
BPG | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.5 | | 5.4 | 5.3 | 9.5 |
SPG | 8.7 | 8.2 | 7.5 | | 8.8 | 8.5 | 4.0 |
TOPG | 9.5 | 8.9 | 7.5 | | 13.5 | 13.1 | 14 |
PfPF | 9.2 | 6.5 | 4.0 | | 18.2 | 18.2 | 15.5 |
FG% | 46 | 46 | 42 | | 43 | 46 | 48 |
3TP% | 38 | 29 | 46 | | 32 | 39 | 36 |
FT% | 58 | 48 | 53 | | 81 | 80 | 100 |
Bench Production"On the Mavs side the bench has played well during the playoffs as they could increase they percentages but they lack of a strong bench like the 76ers. The Philadelphia´s bench is one of the best benches in the league getting almost half of the points during the season. At the Playoffs started they lower their production as a result of the improvement of the starting five players. It´s interesting to see that the bench of Dallas didn’t have any 3Tp when they meet this will be key in the finals."
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| Season | Playoffs | vs Mavs | | Season | Playoffs | vs 76ers |
PPG | 55.3 | 38.6 | 33.5 | | 19.7 | 18.7 | 8.5 |
RPG | 27.8 | 21.7 | 20.5 | | 13.5 | 6.9 | 13.5 |
ORPG | 8.8 | 6.4 | 9.0 | | 5.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
DRPG | 19.0 | 15.2 | 11.5 | | 7.7 | 4.3 | 10.5 |
APG | 13.8 | 8.2 | 10.5 | | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
SPG | 3.9 | 2.1 | 3.5 | | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
BPG | 2.1 | 1.1 | 9.0 | | 2.2 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
FG% | 43 | 40 | 41 | | 39 | 48 | 33 |
3TP% | 35 | 27 | 46 | | 22 | 47 | 0 |
FT% | 61 | 51 | 42 | | 70 | 76 | 100 |
Key Match Up: D.Howard vs. D.Nowitzski"There is no doubt that the key matchup will be between Howard and Nowitzski two big guys that are the best PF in the league but both with different styles. Nowitzski is a player that can shot from everywhere he can post up against any center in the NBA and he can also shot from beyond the arc. On the Other hand Howard is a kind of player that likes to take the ball deep on the paint to dunk the ball. He was not effective from the middle range something that the coach wanted to develop. I don’t know if the 76ers will put howard to guard Nowitzski because if Howard leaves the paint the key in not well protected. Also it will be important to guard Dirk as the bench gets into the game I think they will go with Haslem a player that is very effective on guarding bigger players. The ability to play in different places will give the advantage on the Mavericks but they would have to give the ball to Dirk. It´s important to keep in mind that Howard only played one game against Dirk because he was traded after the first game against Dallas. So it will take some time for Howard to adjust to Dirk. Also in that one game Dirk only played for 24 minutes so it will be interesting the match up."
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| Season | Playoffs | vs Dallas (1) | | Season | Playoffs | vs 76ers(2) |
PPG | 18.6 | 27.4 | 12 | | 22.5 | 22 | 20 |
RPG | 10.9 | 11 | 12 | | 10.2 | 10.2 | 16 |
BPG | 1.45 | 1 | 2 | | 1.46 | 1.64 | 2 |
MPG | 32.7 | 32.7 | 28 | | 40.4 | 41.6 | 32 |
ORPG | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3 | | 1.6 | 1.9 | 7.5 |
DRPG | 7.5 | 6.7 | 9 | | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.5 |
FG% | 54 | 61 | 43 | | 51 | 45 | 61 |
3TP% | 0 (3) | 0 (4) | - | | 42 | 28 | - |
FT% | 55 | 41 | 46 | | 92 | 88 | 100 |
Final Conclusion"This will be an interesting series as both teams don’t know each other because after they meet the first time both teams changed a lot on their strategy. If the Mavericks want to keep on the game they would have to stop Howard in the paint and forced the fouls. If the 76ers want to win for the second time the NBA Trophy they would have to keep the level of game and to stay in control if they got a large margin something that cost them in the last series. What´s your prediction???."