The Miami Heat couldn’t quite get the job done last season against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals and now LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), and Chris Bosh(notes) get to sit around and wait till a new collective bargaining agreement is worked out before getting to try it all again.

The supporting cast to the Big Three is set to change whenever a new season gets underway. The Miami Herald reports that General Manager Pat Riley is planning to go after Shane Battier(notes), Grant Hill(notes), and Tayshaun Prince(notes) once the lockout is finally lifted.

If those three don’t work out, the Herald notes, the team will then turn its attention to Michael Redd(notes) and Tracy McGrady(notes).

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: Miami Herald

Related: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Tayshaun Prince, Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

The NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks is anyone’s series.

That’s the best prediction to offer now that a positively odd Game 4 has been played — and won — by the Dallas Mavericks, 86-83. The story lines spawned by Tuesday’s game and what is now shaping up as a classic NBA Final are too numerous to keep track of.

Dallas was pretty much done after Game 1, remember? After they lost Game 3, in which it seemed like they had so many things falling into place nearly all the “experts” declared this finals over (I’m guilty too).

Then came Game 4 — a game in which Dirk Nowitzki played suffering from a fever of 101 degrees and went a very pedestrian 6-of-19 from the field. A game in which the Heat -once again led in the fourth quarter, a game in which Dwyane Wade again, played like a superstar, a game in which Chris Bosh stepped up and played well and a game that featured Jason Kidd go 0-for-3 from the field and finish with three assists and four turnovers.

Blowout right? Well as Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friends”.

Kidd was bad and Dirk was human but the rest of the Dallas Mavericks came to play.

Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 16 rebounds, including nine on the offensive boards. Jason Terry had 17 points and three steals. Shawn Marion had 16 points and four boards and little Jose Juan Barea had eight points and four assists.

For as much all around balance and teamwork Dallas showed, Miami was the polar opposite. Yes, Wade had another big game with a game-high 32 points with two assists, two steals, two blocks and six rebounds but the pressure to do nearly everything on the floor may have impacted his play in the final minute when he missed a free throw to tie the game and fumbled an inbounds pass with six seconds left.

The fumble resulted in a broken play and missed desperation 3-pointer to try and tie the game.

Chris Bosh also came to play with 24 points and six boards. The rest of Miami, though? Bueller? Bueller? They did nothing.

LeBron wasn’t Kobe, Magic, Scottie or Jordan — he just looked like an oversized point guard with no shot. Constantly passing the ball, totally passive on the court and generally out-of-sync, LeBron was flat. That would have been somewhat acceptable had anyone else wearing a Heat uniform showed up to play last night. Without Bosh or Wade, the Heat scored only 27 points.

The other mystery that really needs to be addressed is the coaching. I’m not an Erik Spoelstra basher. In fact, I think he got a bit too much criticism earlier in the season when the Heat stumbled out of the gate.

Throughout the playoffs, this Mavericks team has played in a somewhat deliberate fashion. You know they are going to make a serious push in the fourth quarter, you know who the offense is centered around, you know who will take the big shots. The whole world knows it will be Dirk Nowitzki.

In Game 2 it was Dirk and he delivered, in Game 3 it was Dirk and he missed but he still got a decent shot off, and yes a fallaway jump shot from the free throw line counts as a decent shot for Dirk.

I understand the the single coverage by Haslem on Dirk worked in Game 3. Still, that strategy has failed more often than it’s worked. Over the course of these playoffs, teams have let Dirk have the ball in single coverage late in games and the Mavericks are still playing basketball. Dirk may have had a fever but the Mavericks were still feeding him the ball down the stretch. He wasn’t hitting all his shots but he was getting to the free throw line where he is as good as anyone in NBA history.

The scene was set: Mavs led by one, 30 seconds left in the game, Dallas ball. Dirk gets the ball near the free throw line and holds the ball to run down the clock. Where’s the double team?

There was plenty of time for it to get there. It never came, because it was never called, and the result was a Nowitzki score. If you were Miami, wouldn’t you prefer almost anyone in the entire world taking a shot in that situation besides Nowitzki? Has he not proven himself yet? Is there some sort of question in Coach Spoelstra’s mind as to wether or not he’s got the guts to take and make a big shot?? Why on earth would Miami allow single coverage on the man who is currently owning the title of “big shot maker” in these playoffs?

Scottie Brooks who won Coach of The Year in the NBA for the 2009-2010 season had the same strategy in the Western Conference Finals and Dirk absolutely torched the Thunder. The Heat play better defense than the Thunder but Dirk is Dirk. He’s not going to be stopped that often. I can understand not doubling him the whole game because Dirk is a decent passer and he will catch on and start getting the ball in the hands of Kidd, Terry, or Barea and those guys can make you pay.

But in that final minute, showing Dirk a different look, a defense he hasn’t encountered all game would seem like a decent idea. Spring a double team on him and maybe he gets rattled and turns it over, maybe he passes and someone else misses a shot or maybe he makes another amazing play and it’s all for naught. There’s no way to know what will happen but it seems like single coverage in that circumstance is getting very predictable.

This is now a best-of-three series and a seven-game thriller seems plausible. Don’t be shocked if James comes out like a man possessed on Thursday. Players of his caliber tend to bounce back quite well from inexplicably poor showings such as his Game 4 showing. A healthy Dirk should mean a better Dirk but how much more can this guy do?

It’s going to come down to this Dallas supporting cast. If guys like Chandler, Marion, and Terry continue to play well and Kidd bounces back off his own stinker, Dallas playing it’s final home game will be very tough to beat. If those guys have off nights, though, Miami will probably eek out another tough win on the road.

The pressure to perform in Game 5 has shifted and it’s not really on Miami or Dallas anymore. It now rests on the broad shoulders of LeBron James. If he plays another soft game and Miami loses, legitimate questions will start to be asked.

Last season when he pulled a vanishing act in the Boston-Cleveland series, the excuse was his impending free-agency. On Sunday, when the Heat won but some thought LeBron played poorly, his excuse was that he was focused on defense. If the Heat lose on Thursday? Well then LeBron will need a whole new slew of excuses and I don’t know where he’ll find them.

Read More: Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks, Jun 7, 2011 9:00 PM EDT

The Dallas Mavericks almost erased another double-digit lead in Game 3 of the NBA Finals to come away with the win. But after a made Chris Bosh jumper and a Dirk Nowitzki turnover and miss, the Mavericks now find themselves down 2-1 in the series. If the Mavericks want to even things up and at least give themselves a chance to win this series, they are going to have to make a few different adjustments.

Offense: Stop Trying To Create Transition Chances

Dallas’ turnover problems in Game 2 didn’t really get talked about at length because of the fact that Dallas came back and the Miami Heat ended up playing “Hero Basketball” for the final seven minutes of the game. Most of these turnovers were a result of the Mavericks trying to force the issue and create transition opportunities. The Mavericks cut their turnovers in Game 3 (only turning it over 14 times), but the problem of forcing the basketball and trying to create transition opportunities out of nothing continued to be a problem for Dallas:

One of the tendency teams have when playing a tremendous halfcourt defense like Miami is to say something along the lines of “we need to get out and run, not let them set up their defense.”  However, what makes Miami so special is that they are great at getting back and playing transition defense.  It is becoming more and more apparent that Dallas isn’t comfortable running (look at Peja Stojakovic’s “outlet pass” or J.J. Barea;s hesitance when trying to force a delayed transition opportunity) and trying to create opportunities.  This is what leads to turnovers, so instead of running their stuff (which has done a decent job of getting good looks), the Mavericks are throwing possessions away.

I’m not saying don’t run, when the opportunities are there, you need to take advantage.  However, trying to create opportunities out of nothing just doesn’t work against Miami.  Slow it down and run your offense.

Defense: Don’t Double Wade/James Post Up Opportunities

In Game 3, the Heat scored 13 points on 12 post-up possessions, according to Synergy Sports Technology.  These post-up opportunities can be broken up into two categories, wing post-ups (possessions where Dwyane Wade or LeBron James got the ball on the block) and big post-ups (Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony).  The Heat were wildly successful when posting up their wings, scoring 11 points on just 6 possessions with only one possession not resulting in any points.  The biggest reason for Wade and James’ success is that they were ready for and knew how to handle the double teams that Dallas sent just about every single time:

James got posted up two times (once at the start of the game and once at the start of the second half), and both times it looked like it was a set play designed to take advantage of Dallas’ double team.  The ball would go to LeBron on the post, Joel Anthony would set a pindown on the weakside (once for Mike Bibby and once for Wade) and the result was an open three for Bibby and an open jumper for Bosh after the defense overplayed Wade on the pindown.

While the post-up chances for Wade came more in the flow of the game (compared to James’ set plays), the Mavericks still sent doubles, and the Heat were still ready for these doubles:

On Wade post-ups, the Heat like to use James to enter the basketball. The Heat do this for two reasons. First, if Shawn Marion falls asleep and shades too far off of James, Wade can simply kick it out to James and let him attack (which is what happens on the first possession). Also, it takes away the double team from the man making the entry pass (no team is going to leave James to double the post), forcing the double to come from the weakside. That is what happens on the second play in the video above. The Mavericks double on the pass from the weakside and Wade does a good job of swinging it to the opposite side, and the result is an open jumper for Udonis Haslem.

The only time that Dallas was able to stop a wing post-up was when they allowed Wade’s defender (Jason Kidd) to play him one on one, and then bringing help when Wade commits to his move to the rim:

What happens here is that no double comes and Tyson Chandler helps as Wade attacks the rim.  Wade is forced to double clutch, allowing Kidd to swipe at the basketball, knocking it loose.  

The Heat have done a good job of scouting, noticing that Dallas will send the double team just about every time, and their guys are prepared for it, ready to make the pass out.  You play Miami’s wing posts one-on-one, you not only prevent the kickout, but you also switch things up, and that too can throw Miami off their game on the block.

Read More: 2011 nba finals, 2011 nba finals tv schedule, 2011 nba finals schedule, nba finals schedule, Chris Bosh (F – MIA), Jason Terry (G – DAL), Dirk Nowitzki (F – DAL), LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

The Dallas Mavericks absolutely can’t afford to lose Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals. The Miami Heat hold a 2-1 lead in the series and with a win Tuesday would be a virtual lock to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The task for the Mavericks is to solve the Heat defense and find a way to get some of their other scorers involved in the game and putting up points.

There’s two ways to look at the series so far if you are a Dallas fan. On the one hand, the Mavericks won a road game and were very much in Game 3 and lost by just two points. On the other hand, all the breaks (and calls) went their way in that third game and they still lost. They won the rebounding (+6) and took 12 more free throws and still didn’t win. The Heat have yet to get a big game from Chris Bosh and they essentially blew Game 2 with their own hubris after taking a big lead late in the fourth quarter.

What’s pretty clear in watching this series is that the Heat have more talent on the floor at crunch time. LeBron James hasn’t had to put up big shooting numbers because the Mavericks don’t have anyone that can guard Dwyane Wade. James has been able to focus his efforts on the defensive end where he’s shut down Jason Terry and at some point in this series, if needed, he’s going to guard Dirk Nowitzki. 

The Heat have lead the majority of this series so far and have yet to play a complete game. If they can bring the right mental focus to Game 4 (as they did in Game 3), they should be able to win Tuesday’s game and essentially end the series. For Dallas to win, their shooters will need to find some other way to get open looks and hit them when they come. Most importantly, Dallas can’t turnover the ball as they’ve done too many times in this series.

Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals tips off on Tuesday June 7, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ABC. Down 2-1 in the series, Dallas needs to play it’s best basketball to avoid a deep hole.

Here’s the full remaining schedule for the 2011 NBA Finals:
Game 5 Thursday June 9, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT
Game 6 * Sunday June 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT
Game 7 * Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT
*If necessary

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, right, wait to shoot during a practice session for Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball game Monday, June 6, 2011, in Dallas. The Heat lead the Dallas Mavericks 2-1 in the series. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)