First, this is Eastern Conference/Pat Riley basketball the Heat played in Game 4. (Remember Riles’ 1994 Knicks?) And the refs allowed some of it.
Well, from game to game, the officiating differs. (And WHY doesn’t the NBA keep the same three refs all the way through a series? No other major sport does this. You don’t get different umps at each World Series game.)
If it’s being allowed, then Dallas has to play, not look over their shoulders for foul calls that aren’t going to be given them.
Yes, that’s you, Dirk. The “soft European” and “soft Maverick” labels are in danger of being resurrected. And it’s in large part on your shoulders to knock them down, especially with the Stackhouse suspension.
But it’s not just your shoulders. Josh Howard needs to get rebounds or something if he can’t hit the broad side of a backboard with the ball.
And Avery Johnson? Yes, it’s player execution, but it’s also something to do with your defenses as to why Dwyane Wade is getting so many rebounds. Don’t allow his defensive man to be the doubler when you double-team Shaq. When you’re in zone, make it more of a matchup zone or a box-and-one, for the same reason.
He’s not so much like a young Michael Jordan as he is a young Jerry West in some ways, as he finds a nose for rebounding. Rub it out.
Finally, I don’t by the line of folks like ESPN’s Mark Stein, who say Miami needs this game worse than Dallas. If the Mavs lose, that “soft” label is coming in like a tidal wave.
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