Gotta run!.

By Jaime Aron
The Associated Press

DALLAS – While Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks were on the court celebrating the championship they won over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last season, the Miami Heat were gathered in another part of the building.

It wasn’t because they dreaded watching the ceremony, they insisted.

They were simply getting ready to show everyone why they are favored to win it all this season.

James and Wade led a series of scoring waves that put Miami ahead by 35 points midway through the third quarter, the lead peaking when James soared to the rim and tipped an alley-oop pass to Wade so he could have the dunk instead. The game was essentially over then, although the Mavs reserves fueled a late rally that made the final score look close, 105-94.

“We tried to play aggressive,” James said. “We’re a focused team. We had a great training camp. We came in with the same mindset we had at practice, use our speed and play with mental focus.”

James finished with 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Wade had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Miami scored at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters.

“Celebration or not, we had a game plan and implemented it,” Wade said. “We came out and played a good game.”

Maybe the pregame festivities left the Mavs emotionally drained because they were down by 15 after one quarter and 21 at halftime. They then gave up 14 straight points early in the third quarter.

The blowout had less to do with an emotional hangover and more to do with exposing the slow process of breaking in a new rotation. Dallas lost center Tyson Chandler and backup point guard J.J. Barea and added guard Vince Carter, do-it-all Lamar Odom and backup guard Delonte West.

“We’re going to have to forge an identity with this team; it’s a different team,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s work, and it’s going to take honesty, and it’s not going to be easy.”

Carter took Dallas’ first two shots, an 18-footer and a layup. Both missed. West started the second half in his place and finished with 10 points. Carter had five points, two rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.

Odom – the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year, who was acquired from the Lakers a few weeks ago for merely a trade exception – entered to a standing ovation, and got fans roaring again when he made a 3-pointer that tied the game at 11. He missed his next five shots before getting ejected midway through the third quarter, but still left to loud cheers. He had four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.

“We’ve got to get better and it will take a little time to get better,” Odom said.

Jason Terry sparked a Dallas rally, that started after Odom was tossed, and wound up leading Dallas with 23 points. Nowitzki scored 21 in three quarters. Shawn Marion scored 12 and broke the pinky finger on his left hand.

While the NBA lockout teetered on disaster for the league, it did produce one excellent consequence: the Dallas Mavericks will open the season at home against the Miami Heat on Christmas day to open the season — and raise their championship banner prior to the game. The lamest member of the superfriends in Miami, Chris Bosh, thinks that the ceremony is going to suck.

Bosh, who is a Dallas native, thought that there were too many Mavericks fans during the offseason as well.

Bosh spent only a week back home in Dallas during the offseason, partly to enjoy the Miami surroundings with his wife, but also to avoid the negativity from fans back in Texas — fans, he added, that weren’t so abundant when he was growing up.

“I didn’t want to hear all the fans,” Bosh joked. “But it’s funny because there wasn’t a lot of Mavericks fans when I was a kid. But now all of a sudden, everybody’s a Mavericks fan.”    

That’s funny. Before the superfriends teamed up in Miami, did anybody care about the Heat? As if teaming up with two superstars in Miami, in a league dominated by player interest more so than team interest, isn’t going to invite bandwagon fans. 

Maybe Bosh can have a few tissues ready for LeBron James when they raise the banner, since it’s going to suck so much – it wouldn’t be the first time LeBron cried in Dallas.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

The Mavs will see their title banner raised to the rafters while their NBA Finals foes sadly look on during the season opener on Christmas, but Mark Cuban hasn’t gotten their rings made yet. From the Star-Telegram and ESPN: “The Mavericks won’t receive their NBA championship rings on opening day against the Miami Heat after all. Owner Mark Cuban said, after much consideration, he has decided to give his players their rings on another game night. ‘Banner only [on] opening night,’ Cuban said via e-mail. ‘Rings will be another night.’”

“Mavs owner Mark Cuban has not had the 2010-11 championship rings designed because he wants to get input from Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd as to how the rings should look, Cuban confirmed Thursday night. ‘I think he is waiting for J-Kidd and Dirk and I to come up with something,’ Terry said Thursday when he was the lone Mavs player to work out at the American Airlines Center on the first day that locked-out players could return to their teams’ practice facilities. Cuban added that he considered handing out fake rings at the opener, but decided to hold the banner raising ceremony and ring presentation on separate nights, giving fans that might have attended the canceled Nov. 1 opener, but have other plans on Christmas Day, a chance to see one of the special moments.”

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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made the unpopular claim that his team wouldn’t be getting title rings for winning the championship back in June, but he appears to have changed his mind. Wise move, Mark. From the Dallas Morning News: “Mark Cuban, after careful deliberation, has decided that the Mavericks will receive championship rings for their title that was won in June. By ‘careful deliberation,’ we mean it probably came after one night of partying with the players after the Miami series. Back when those things were legal. As you recall, Cuban had an off-the-cuff remark after the championship series against Miami that he thought rings had become too old-school for this day and age. Turns out old-school works for an old team. Anyway, Cuban said: ‘I will get rings, but maybe not quite traditional in one way or another.’”

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

Caron Butler(notes) helped the Dallas Mavericks get to the playoffs last season, where the team earned its first NBA title, but FOX Sports reports that he’d be open to leaving there and heading back to the Miami Heat, where he hasn’t played since the 2003-4 season.

Butler, of course, wasn’t involved in the playoffs since he went down with a knee injury in January. When the lockout ends, Butler will be an unrestricted free agent and he told FOX that Miami and Dallas are the two teams that interest him most.

“That’s pretty much it,” Butler said FOX. “I don’t want to throw no (other) teams out there. But I am open to any suggestions.”

In the 29 games the two-time All-Star played for the Mavs last season, the 31-year-old averaged 15 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

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Source: FOX Sports

Related: Dallas Mavericks

Gotta run!.

MIAMI — It took some prodding. But count forward Caron Butler as a candidate to return to the Miami Heat.

Butler, a two-time All-Star working his way back from a season-ending knee injury suffered in January, will be an unrestricted free agent whenever the NBA lockout ends. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Miami, where Butler broke into the NBA and played from 2002-04, took a look at him.

“It’d be interesting,” Butler said in an interview with FOX Sports Florida about the prospect of returning to the Heat.

Asked whether Miami is on his list, Butler eventually said, “Yes.” But he didn’t want to talk too much about the Heat, which is understandable.

Butler, 31, remains loyal to Dallas, which wants him back after a season in which Butler went down with a ruptured right patellar tendon Jan. 1 and could only watch as the Mavericks beat the Heat for the NBA title last June. And he has no idea what the new rules might be in the NBA.

“I love Dallas, what that organization, the fans, what they did for me when I went down and got injured,” said Butler, who went scoreless in 12 minutes in the South Florida All-Star Classic on Saturday night, an event put on at Florida International University by Heat stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. “They supported me and stood by my side. Winning a championship there and being part of that there, that’s always special. So I just don’t know what it’s going to end up like. You got to see how stuff is structured with the new deal, the new collective bargaining agreement.”

Butler said Mavericks officials told him before the lockout started July 1 they want to re-sign him. But it’s unclear what type of salary Butler, who made $10.56 million last season, might be able to command.

“They definitely told me they wanted me back,” Butler said. “I’m grateful for the organization. We’ll see what happens. I love Dallas. I like a lot of other places. But I really love Dallas.”

So where else does Butler like?

“That’s pretty much it,” Butler said of not wanting to mention any teams other than Dallas and Miami. “I don’t want to throw no (other) teams out there. But I am open to any suggestions.”

Perhaps Wade, who played with Butler with the Heat in 2003-04, will suggest Butler might want to return to Miami once free agency gets under way.

“Me and Dwyane, we always talk about a lot of things. So anything can happen,” said Butler, who said the two have yet to talk about the forward’s free agency.

Butler averaged 15.4 points as a rookie with the Heat in 2002-03 before slumping to 9.2 when Wade arrived in 2003-04. But after being traded to the Lakers in 2004 and moving on to Washington in 2005, Butler played in All-Star games in 2007 and 2008.

Butler, who has a career average of 16.6 points per game, landed in Dallas in February 2010. He was averaging 15 points before crashing to the floor with his season-ending injury at Milwaukee, which is just north of his hometown of Racine, Wis.

“Good,” Butler said of how his knee feels, later calling it “100″ percent. “Ready to play. Anxious to play.”

It’s just not clear with which team yet.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

MIAMI—

Five years ago, when the Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals, the widespread perception was that Pat Riley had outcoached Avery Johnson, as the Heat overcame a 2-0 deficit to take the best-of-seven series in six games.

Based on comments offered Monday by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the belief in Dallas is that the 2011 championship might have come down to the edge Rick Carlisle had on Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Interviewed on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live,” choosing his words carefully amid the NBA lockout, Cuban offered his view on how the Mavericks took this past June’s NBA Finals in six games, after falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“I’ll tell you the interesting thing,” Cuban said, “after Game 3 of the Miami series, our guys said, ‘They aren’t making any adjustments. We got ‘em.’ And so the confidence was through the roof.”

Among the changes made during the series by the Mavericks was inserting point guard J.J. Barea into the starting lineup in place of shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, and replacing sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic in the rotation with the more aggressive presence of forward Brian Cardinal. The Mavericks also adjusted their offense to take advantage of the Heat’s aggressive close-out defense on outside shooters.

The lone notable Heat adjustment was moving point guard Mario Chalmers into the starting lineup in place of Mike Bibby for Game 6, after falling behind 3-2 in the series. Spoelstra elected not to utilize 3-point specialist James Jones in the series and only fleetingly utilized reserve guard Eddie House.

Cuban also addressed the significance of exacting revenge against the Heat, albeit against the revised cast of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He had mocked the Heat’s chances of succeeding with such a combination during the 2010 free-agency period.

“The playoffs run 57 days,” he said. “For me, it was 56 days, 23 hours and lots of minutes of pure anxiety. I really didn’t start to enjoy it until there were about 30 seconds left in the game . . . and it finally dawned on me that we had finally beaten the Evil Empire and all those doubts.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat

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MIAMI—

Five years ago, when the Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals, the widespread perception was that Pat Riley had outcoached Avery Johnson, as the Heat overcame a 2-0 deficit to take the best-of-seven series in six games.

Based on comments offered Monday by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the belief in Dallas is that the 2011 championship might have come down to the edge Rick Carlisle had on Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Interviewed on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live,” choosing his words carefully amid the NBA lockout, Cuban offered his view on how the Mavericks took this past June’s NBA Finals in six games, after falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“I’ll tell you the interesting thing,” Cuban said, “after Game 3 of the Miami series, our guys said, ‘They aren’t making any adjustments. We got ‘em.’ And so the confidence was through the roof.”

Among the changes made during the series by the Mavericks was inserting point guard J.J. Barea into the starting lineup in place of shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, and replacing sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic in the rotation with the more aggressive presence of forward Brian Cardinal. The Mavericks also adjusted their offense to take advantage of the Heat’s aggressive close-out defense on outside shooters.

The lone notable Heat adjustment was moving point guard Mario Chalmers into the starting lineup in place of Mike Bibby for Game 6, after falling behind 3-2 in the series. Spoelstra elected not to utilize 3-point specialist James Jones in the series and only fleetingly utilized reserve guard Eddie House.

Cuban also addressed the significance of exacting revenge against the Heat, albeit against the revised cast of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He had mocked the Heat’s chances of succeeding with such a combination during the 2010 free-agency period.

“The playoffs run 57 days,” he said. “For me, it was 56 days, 23 hours and lots of minutes of pure anxiety. I really didn’t start to enjoy it until there were about 30 seconds left in the game . . . and it finally dawned on me that we had finally beaten the Evil Empire and all those doubts.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat

There is the quick update of the day.

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Dwyane Wade(notes) and the Miami Heat made it to the sixth game of the NBA Finals before succumbing to Dirk Nowitzki(notes) and the Dallas Mavericks. Now, Wade isn’t planning to take a break even if the NBA season isn’t played.

The Associated Press reports that Wade has decided to play somewhere next season, whether it’s in the NBA or not. “I’m going to play basketball this year,” Wade told the AP. “I don’t know where, but I love the game so much that I will play it. And we will figure that out.”

The 29-year-old guard also told the news service that he hasn’t received any international offers yet.

For now, Wade is preparing for the NBA season in case it somehow starts on time, the AP reports: “I’m working into things slowly. Right now I’m taking my time, doing what I do for my body, which might be different than others.”

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Source: Associated Press

Related: Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

Gotta run!.

Dwyane Wade(notes) and the Miami Heat made it all the way to the sixth game of the NBA Finals before succumbing to Dirk Nowitzki(notes) and the Dallas Mavericks. Now, Wade isn’t planning to take a break even if the NBA season doesn’t take place.

The Associated Press reports that Wade has decided to play somewhere next season, whether it’s in the NBA or not. “I’m going to play basketball this year,” Wade told the AP. “I don’t know where, but I love the game so much that I will play it. And we will figure that out.”

The 29-year-old guard also told the news service that he hasn’t received any international offers yet.

For now, Wade is preparing for the NBA season in case it somehow starts on time, the AP reports: “I’m working into things slowly. Right now I’m taking my time, doing what I do for my body, which might be different than others.”

Don’t forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: Associated Press

Related: Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

That’s all for today.

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

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MIAMI—

When it comes to the criticism LeBron James endured in the wake of the Miami Heat’s NBA Finals failure against the Dallas Mavericks, Kobe Bryant has two words:

“Back off.”

Amid reflecting on his own team’s postseason demise against Dallas, the Los Angeles Lakers guard had pointed words during an ESPN interview for those who have pointed a critical finger at the Heat forward.

“I think people need to lay off that kid, that’s what I think,” Bryant said of James. “I’ve gotten to know him pretty well, playing with the Olympic team, and I think they just need to back off him and just let him play and let him live his life and let him make his decisions and let him mature as a player.”

Bryant said he could relate to what James has had to endure in the six weeks since the Heat came up two victories shy of an NBA title in the Heat’s first season with the roster remix of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

“It’s tough to be under the microscope like that all the time,” Bryant said. “So, I would like everybody to just back off of him and just let him play.”

Bryant’s Lakers were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the Mavericks, and he said what forward Dirk Nowitzki, guard Jason Kidd and owner Mark Cuban accomplished should not be minimized.

“I’m happy for Dirk. I’m happy for Jason. I’m happy for Jason and all those guys and Mark, they’re very deserving of it,” Bryant said. “They played with a sense of desperation that we couldn’t catch up to. And when we finally figured out things that we wanted to do against them, they shot the lights out and knocked out us.

“It’s as simple as that. But we’ll be back.”

As was the case for the Heat, the Lakers simply were overwhelmed by Dallas’ 3-point shooting.

“They were unconscious,” Bryant said. “They’re definitely deserving to win.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat

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