Dallas Mavericks finally land the NBA World Championship – How they did it? – Part 2
Link to part-1: http://www.senore.com/Dallas-Mavericks-finally-land-the-NBA-World-Championship-How-they-did-it-Part-1-a76031
The resurgence of the two Jasons:
Jason Kidd have been vital components of the Mavericks outfit for some time now and after a slow start to the series, both of them showed exactly why they are so important for the Mavs.
Jason Terry was the one who made all the headlines. In the early part of the series, specifically in the two games that the Dallas Mavericks lost, LeBron James did a hounding job on Terry. When the clock starting winding down, James came up to guard Terry and just like Derrick Rose before him, Terry struggled against the giant.
However, Jason Terry kept telling everyone that LeBron wouldn’t be able to keep it up. He took a lot of stick for what were perceived to be tall claims, but in the end Terry shut every one up. Unlike Rose, Jason Terry is a terrific shooter. And unlike Rose, Jason Terry plays in a terrific offensive unit.
Terry just put two and two together and he came up with a solution to his James problem. Jason reverted to running around much more, taking LeBron with him. He used his vision and penetration to set up big plays for teammates and when, eventually, he found some looks he knocked down the shots.
His offence destroyed the Heat in the later games and gave Nowitzki the platform to do what he did.
The other Jason, the 38 year old future Hall of Famer, also was sluggish in the opening games. Jason Kidd plays a very subtle game, and one would have to observe keenly to actually realize what was going on with regards to his performance.
Kidd couldn’t take control of the games at the start. He also, by his own admission, turned the ball over sometimes and Miami’s stifling defence made his job of picking guys out harder. However the veteran guard is not revered as an all time great for no reason.
As the series progressed, Jason Kidd came into his own. He figured out the Miami defence and then just picked them apart. Time and again Jason Kidd put the ball in the hands of the guy who had a favourable matchup. Time and again he spotted up for critical three pointers himself. Time and again Jason Kidd made the extra pass that resulted in an open look. Kidd made decisions on the runtime, serving as an on court coach, and he controlled the flow of the game for the Mavs.
Game-2 comeback:
As the Mavericks Jason Terry has since admitted, the comeback win in game-2 was perhaps the biggest turning point in the Finals. Down by 15 points with time running out, the aged Mavericks refused to give up. Resiliency has become a feature of the team and even though they showed their ability to comeback in the fourth quarter time and again in the playoffs, one would have been a brave man to predict their win in game-2.
The game looked that far out of Dallas’ reach that the Miami Heat were half celebrating with around 7 minutes still to go. It came back to haunt them big time. The Mavericks charged back into the game, silencing the American Airlines Arena crowd. The old bunch just found a way and pulled out one of the most impressive comeback wins in the history of the Finals.
The damage that did to the Heat, and the boost it gave to the Mavericks, cannot be overstated.
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