The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks are meeting up on Friday night in an anticipated game in South Florida and it will be a rematch of the NBA finals in 2011 and the game will be starting up at 7:30 PM from AmericanAirlines Arena and has LeBron James taking on Dirk Nowitzki and company and the game will be streaming online from the NBA.com league pass.
The Miami Heat have not been off to an impressive start, but the team is 5-3 and now they will face off against the team they last lost to in the playoffs a couple years ago after winning two straight championships and should be a nice matchup of former rivals. LeBron James and the Heat lost to the Mavericks before winning their championships and now the two teams get the chance to match up on Friday and the Heat come in after winning by over 20 points against the Milwaukee Bucks and that team is the one they beat in the first round before advancing to win their second championship in as many years. James scored 33 points in the game and after playing against the Mavericks the team will next have the Charlotte Bobcats and that game will be on the road. The team has been impressive on offense but has started slow and now they will play the Mavericks.
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The Miami Heat are coming off of two straight championships and the team hasn't lost a playoff series since losing to the Mavericks back in 2011 and the team is playing very well, as they are coming in after a blowout win and they are now 5-3 and the Mavericks are also coming in with the same record. The team is ranked fourth in the league in points per game and they are scoring over 105 points per contest and they are ranked 17th in scoring defense with just over 100 points per game and that is something the team needs to shore up heading into the season, but the regular schedule isn't a top concern for the Heat, but they must beware of finishing in the lower part of the top four, as they could end up having to play on the road in the playoffs.
The team is ranked first in the league in assists per game and they are ranked 30th in rebounding and that is likely to get better along with the defense as the season goes on. The team is now chasing the Indiana Pacers in the eastern conference and it could play a huge part in what happens in the playoffs, as last season Miami had home court advantage and won the series in seven, but if Indy gets the top spot in the conference, that could really change the complexion of the series. James is leading the team with 25 points per game this season and the team has a pretty easy schedule coming up after playing the Mavericks, as they will hit the road against Charlotte to play the Bobcats and then the team plays the HAwks and the Magic and after that they play against the Phoenix Suns and then on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then against on the road against the Toronto Raptors.
The Dallas Mavericks are coming into the game off of a win as well and they are ranked fourth in the NBA, making the matchup a very good one potentially especially with the shared history of the two teams. Dirk finished the game against the Wizards on Tuesday with 19 points and the team is also ranked 23rd in scoring defense with over 100 points allowed and the team comes in ranked 14th in rebounding and 11th in assists per game and after playing against the Miami Heat, the team plays against the Orlando Magic. The Mavericks are looking to get back to the playoffs after missing the postseason last year and the team will play the Sixers and then the Houston Rockets on ESPN. The Mavs play the Miami Heat on Friday night and the game starts at 7:30 pm.