Full-Court Press

Nowitzki tears tendon, wearing splint rest of Finals.

Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki will wear a splint the rest of the NBA Finals after tearing a tendon in his left middle finger. He injured the hand on a play when he tried to strip Heat forward Chris Bosh of the ball, and X-rays after the game showed a torn tendon. 

“I’ve got to wear a splint, but it’ll be all right,” Nowitzki said. “Just a freaky play.”

Nowtizki didn't elaborate on the injury, but said it would be OK considering it was his non-shooting hand.

-- Drew Davison

Feeling out? No time for that now

This is no time for feeling out your last opponent of the NBA season. 

Coach Rick Carlisle said going into Game 1 that both teams are beyond that. He expects things to be gnarly right from the get-go. 

“I don’t believe in ‘feeling out’ anything at this point,’’ Carlisle said. “You got to be ready to play from the time the ball’s thrown up. We’ve had four days lag time. So I’m very sure both teams are ready.’’

The key for the Mavericks, he said, is to maintain composure and think their way through Game 1 – doing so one possession at a time. 

“Our depth has been a major, positive factor for us all year,’’ he said. “We need everybody. There’s a good chance we’ll need our 10 through 12 guys to be ready to play as well. The great thing about our group is everybody knows their job and knows how they fit into the system. We’re going to have to do things extremely hard and extremely smart.’’ 

Eddie Sefko

 

D-Wade remembers Kidd, barely, and disses Mav defense, sort of

Dwyane Wade had to dig deep into his mental archives to come up with his first remembrances of Jason Kidd.

“I think I was watching him on black-and-white it’s been so long ago,’’ Wade said. 

Kidd’s age (38) has been much debated leading up to the Finals. He’s been called “the ultimate quarterback’’ by Heat coach Erick Spoelstra. Kidd’s leadership has been one of the primary calling cards of the Mavericks during their playoff run. 

Wade also couldn’t help throwing down a bit of a knock on the Mavericks when he said: “We’re the best defensive team left (playing) in the NBA.’’ 

That shouldn’t sit well with the Mavericks, who have done a good job of building a defensive mentality through their playoff run. 

Brandon George
 

 

For Jason Terry, his shorts fit like a Glove

Jason Terry has a ritual of sleeping the night before games in the shorts of a player from the team he’s about to play against. 

So on Monday night, he tucked himself in while wearing the shorts of Gary Payton, who was a member of the 2006 Miami team that beat the Mavericks in the NBA Finals. 

Terry has shorts from every NBA team that he uses for his dream-time apparel. He got these particular shorts from Payton – aka The Glove because of his defensive abilities – after the ’06 series. 

Terry made it clear, however, that he wasn’t thinking about 2006 by wearing shorts from that year’s Heat team. 

“My focus is solely on Game 1. Anything in the past, anything that can happen in the future, really is irrelevant at this time,’’ Terry said.

 

Butler, Roddy and Jones to be inactive

Coach Rick Carlisle said before the Mavericks’ shootaround today that the team’s inactive list for Game 1 will remain the same as it was for the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City. 

That means Caron Butler, Dominique Jones and Roddy Beaubois will be wearing suits instead of shorts tonight. 

The Mavericks still believe that their centers and forwards make up one of their strengths, which is why Ian Mahinmi and Brian Cardinal are key components and will be kept on the active roster. 

If Game 1 presents different problems, Carlisle can change the active roster from game to game.

Eddie Sefko

 

Kidd finally back in the NBA Finals

MIAMI _ When Jason Kidd led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals in 2002 and ’03, he thought that was going to be the beginning on a long run to pro basketball’s greatest show.

But it Kidd eight years – and a trade to the Dallas Mavericks – to get back to the Finals. And that’s mot exactly the way Kidd envisioned things unfolding.

“After those two (in ’02 and ’03) I thought we were going to go on a roll in Jersey and make it three or four in a row,’’ Kidd said. “But teams change and the game changes in a sense.

“So once I got traded to Dallas I just knew at some point I thought it would be a lot sooner that I would get back to the Finals. Sometimes things just don’t work out that way.’’

In Kidd’s first three seasons with the Mavs after the trade from New Jersey, Dallas got knocked out of the playoffs in the first round twice and advanced to the second round once.

Now, the Mavs are four wins away from winning the franchise’s first NBA title. And Kidd can’t wait until those four victories are in the bag, although Kidd never thought it would take this long to get back on the NBA’s grandest stage.

“You have great teams in this league like the Lakers and the Celtics and San Antonio, who were all winning championships,’’ Kidd said. “It didn’t work out.

“But now we’re here, and hopefully we can find a way to win a championship.’’

 

Nowitzki’s decision was to stay with the Mavs

While LeBron James did a live broadcast – named The Decision – on ESPN last summer to announce that he was leaving Cleveland to sign a free agent contract with the Heat, Dirk Nowitzki was taking low-key approach to announce that he was re-signing with the Mavs.

 Nowitzki said Monday that he never really seriously considered leaving the Mavs.

“Ultimately that’s where my heart was at,’’ Nowitzki said. “I almost felt like we had unfinished business after ’06.’’

In ’06, the Mavs lost to the Heat in the Finals in six games after taking a 2-0 lead in that series. Nowitzki said owner Mark Cuban assured him that he would surround him with championship-type players, and he was true to his word.

“(I) had a great meeting with Mark,’’ Nowitzki said. “All I needed was reassurance that he was going to keep going and keep building around this team, and keep putting all his resources for us to hopefully be up there one day.

“We’re here  again at the big stage. Hopefully we can turn it around this year and finish strong.’’

 

Marion and Wade are close – real close

The offseason homes of Mavs forward Shawn Marion and Heat guard Dwyane Wade are in the same Chicago neighborhood. Thus, with the two players going at each other in the Finals, putting friendships aside has become a top priority.

“It’s all business now,’’ Marion said. “We’re competitors.

“We separate being friends and going out and being enemies on the floor. We have respect for each other. When we get on the floor it’s the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks.’’

Marion actually is a former teammate of Wade after playing with the Heat for parts of the 2007-’08 and ’08-’09 seasons. So he has mixed emotions about going against his former team.

“Of course I’m here playing now,’’ Marion said. “It’s a different feeling for me.’’

 

Chandler don’t feel Heat should be favored

Center Tyson Chandler took exception to the fact that a lot of folks think the Heat are overwhelmingly better than the Mavs.

“I don’t feel that way, because they’ve said that every series,’’ Chandler said. “The Portland Trail Blazes, that was a team that was going to be too rugged, too disciplined and (would) knock us out.

“In the Laker series that was a team with too much experience. No way we were going to knock out the back-to-back champs (and) we swept them.’’

And then came the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

“In the Oklahoma City series, a young team running and gunning,’’ Chandler said. “They may be too much for us.

“We all know what happened there.’’

 

Terry and Bibby renewed old times

Mavs guard Jason Terry and Heat guard Mike Bibby were teammates on the Arizona team that captured the 1997 NCAA championship. Now, one of them will add an NBA title to their resume.

“We did something special in ’97 and now one of us has an opportunity to do something special again,’’ Terry said. “So something’s got to give.’’

Terry talked to Bibby prior to the Mavs arriving in Miami on Sunday.

“It was quick,’’ Terry said. “Let me get some tickets when I get to Miami. Other than that it’s business as usual.

“I’m going to love him, I’m going to give him a hug after we meet again here tomorrow. But after that it’s time to strap it up and let’s hit it.’’

 

Jones simulating James in practice

Although the Mavs have had a committee of players attempting to simulate LeBron James in practice, rookie Dominique Jones and Corey Brewer have done most of the heavy-lifting.

“Those guys have done a terrific job,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “You are trying to simulate a guy that's many would argue is unsimulatable.

“They have done a great job in Dominique is a kind of guy because of his ball-handling abilities and the ability to penetrate, he’s given us a good go the last couple of days.’’

_ Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@DwainPrice

Back to the scene of the crime

The oversized, naked-lady statues are still there in the
lobby.
 
The seventh-floor reception area remains pristine and while
having to take two different elevators to get to their rooms, the hotel for
their stay in Miami for the NBA Finals is the absolute definition of luxury.
 
Except for the memories.
 
This is the same hotel they stayed in when the 2006 meltdown
took place. Well, it’s the same hotel they were in for a while. Coach
Avery Johnson moved out the players after two losses in a failed attempt to get
them away from family and friends, to get them out of “vacation’’
mode, as he called it.
 
The Mavericks elected to use the same hotel this year,
although they did jettison friends and family to another, nearby hotel.
 
No superstitious feelings among the key Mavs. They don’t
mind where they stay.
 
“None of that matters,’’ Dirk Nowitzki
said. “Wherever we stay is where we stay.’’
 
And so, the Mavericks walk in the face of ghosts, and those
gigantic naked ladies.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Miami did what it was supposed to do; Mavericks overachieved

If you go simply by preseason expectations, the Mavericks
already have won big this season.
 
Before the season, they were 20-to-1 longshots to win the
NBA championship. That made them the No. 7 choice, as far as odds are
concerned.
 
Miami? The Heat was the favorite to win it all when the
season began at 17-to-10, according to the Bodog.com listings.
 
As for the odds and the Finals, the Mavericks are slight
underdogs. You have to risk $180 to win $100 on the Heat. If you bet $100 on
the Mavericks, you would win $160.
 
Here’s the odds on the exact outcome of the series.
 
Heat 4-0---------9/1

Heat 4-1---------6/1

Heat 4-2---------13/4

Heat 4-3---------11/4

Mavericks 4-0----18/1

Mavericks 4-1----7/1

Mavericks 4-2----15/2

Mavericks 4-3----6/1

 
Eddie Sefko
 

Mavericks will fly on different wings to Miami

Because of the hailstorm that rumbled through Love Field
earlier this week, the two luxury jets owned by Mark Cuban were damaged and are
not available for travel to Miami for the NBA Finals.
 
The Mavericks have made arrangements to borrow a plane that
is often used by the Phoenix Suns, although it is not owned by the team. It is
a chartered jet.
 
It’ll still have the same great service and amenities
that the top-shelf staff that works on the Mavericks’ plane provide. It
just won’t be quite as plush as the usual digs.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Mavs have photo day with NBA championship trophy

The Mavericks took turns putting on their blue road uniforms
and getting pictures taken with the Larry O’Brien Trophy symbolic of the
NBA Championship.
 
One by one, they went into the area for photos with the
hardware, which presumably will be making the trek to Miami for similar duty on
Sunday. It’s all in the name of television spots that will run up to and
during the NBA Finals starting Tuesday.
 
Eddie Sefko