Dirk Nowitzki needs some backup to marshal Dallas Mavericks towards the NBA title
The German sharp-shooter Dirk Nowitzki has been the overriding power for the Dallas Mavericks during this year’s play-offs. With the size, influence and massive playoffs experience, Nowitzki has proven time and again that he can break into any top flight defence in the league. He has virtually steered the Mavs into the NBA Finals single handedly.
However, his brilliant performances have a down side to it as well and that aspect has been brutally exposed by the Miami Heat in the Finals. Dallas have become too dependent on Nowitzki and they inadvertently land the ball in his grasp when the game is in the clutch. The tall German power forward took care of the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of playoffs, he rattled the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals, but against Miami Heat - a team that thrives on defence - it is getting a bit too much for the Maverick sharp-shooter.
Although, Nowitzki still continues to run Dallas’s offence system against the Heat, however it has become apparent in the first three meetings of the Finals, that the Mavericks need more shoulders to carry the offensive load and to counter the three pronged attack of the men from the South Beach.
Dallas’ backup point guard J.J. Barea seems to have sensed the gravity of the situation, "We want to help him. He's doing a great job of being the leader, but we've got to step up, too."
Miami leads the best of seven series 2-1, after surviving an unyielding fourth quarter assail from the 32 year old Dirk in a thrilling 88-86 win on Sunday night. Nowitzki landed 15 of his game-high 34 points in the final 12 minutes, however a couple of missed shots in the last minute by the forward, prevented Dallas from romping to yet another come from behind win.
The result of the game 3 of the NBA Finals would have been different if the Mavericks’ line-up had provided some support down the stretch. Jason Terry, who is expected to carry the action in the crunch, missed all of his four shots in the final quarter after being clogged up by James and is shooting with a skimpy percentage in the series. Peja Stojakovic, who powered Dallas from beyond the arc impressively against the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers, has failed to land a 3-pointer in the series against Miami. Barea is also struggling big-time against the defensive system of the Heat and has shot only 5-for-23 in the series.
Although many players are capable to complement Dirk in the upcoming showdowns, however the onus falls on Terry, who has been the most reliable scoring outlet for the Mavs this season. He needs to come up with a different game plan to tackle LeBron, who is not giving any room to the Mavericks’ guard. Nowitzki has been very vocal in this regard.
"We have to find a way to get Jet some freedom and get him off some movement, and he's got to make some shots. He's a big reason why we're here, because he's one of the great fourth-quarter players we have in this league. But they've been able to really take that away." Nowitzki said on Terry who is nicked named as ‘Jet’.
The series is still wide open. Dallas Mavericks have the potential and strength to make a strong comeback, but they have to alleviate some burden from their superstar Nowitzki.
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