DALLAS -- Usually, Shawn Marion is the player who is given the assignment to contain Miami Heat superstar forward LeBron James.
During the 2011 NBA Finals -- which the Mavs won over the Heat in six games -- Marion basically turned James into a statue and a non-factor in the series. But when the Mavs (12-13) entertain the Heat (16-6) at 8:30 tonight at American Airlines Center, don't just look for Marion to get his shot at trying to slow down James.
"We've got to do it as a team,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "You can't say to one guy, 'OK, guard this guy and stop him.'
"That's not how it works in this league. The rules are set up to help the offensive guys in a lot of cases, and it's got to be a five-man responsibility to deal with great players.''
The Heat's case is unique, because the world champions also have superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as part of their arsenal. That's what makes them so challenging.
"They have three great players,'' Carlisle said. "They've got (James) and they've got Wade and they've got Bos,h and they've got a lot of other guys that are playing at a really high level, too.
"So it's challenigng, but we're going to be aggressive, we're going to bring a lot of energy to the game and we're going to play as a team.''
-- Dwain Price
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Marion turned James into a statue during the 2011 NBA Finalsm which the Mavs won in six games over the Heat.
"We hope he misses.
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