Anyone who watched Game 1 of the NBA Finals could see two obvious factors that led to the Heat's 92-84 win. Miami got to the offensive glass, and they shut down Dallas' shooters. The Mavericks know that they have to be more aggressive as a unit in chasing down rebounds, particularly on the defensive end, and see Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic hit their open shots. Here are a few other things that Dallas could stand to do if they want to win Game 2:
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- Close out Miami's three-point shooters. Mike Bibby went 0-4. The rest of the crew was 11-20. That won't work. ↵
- Recreate the ball movement of earlier rounds. That's easier said than done against this defense, but it's been a while since Dallas has been out-assisted like they were (20-18) Tuesday. ↵
- See a more active all-around game from Tyson Chandler. Much of it was Miami's doing, but Chandler has to improve on his Game 1 performance for Dallas to have a chance in this series. ↵
- Get a positive result from J.J. Barea's time in the game. Barea is this team's only true penetrator. If he can't finish, he needs to draw Miami's good defenders and create open shots that need to be made. ↵
- Hope that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James aren't both hitting from the outside again. As tough as they are going to the basket, the Heat are nearly unbeatable if they're both hitting their outside shots. ↵
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And a few things they'll want to repeat from Game 1:
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- Keep Chris Bosh from getting hot. Bosh was just 5-18 Tuesday. Imagine the outcome if he'd stayed hot. ↵
- Continue to shoot 41% from three (even with Peja's 0-3). Dallas' terrible 2-pt shooting masked a solid night from beyond the arc. ↵
- Take more free throws than Miami. That one may be hard to replicate many more times this series. ↵