Sizzling Dallas set to visit Miami in first matchup since Finals

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

MIAMI - It's been seven months since the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.
Seven long months, to be exact.
"Seems forever ago," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.
And while those glorious memories from winning the NBA finals might seem a bit hazy to the Heat these days, given that they're 19-21 and mired in third place in the Southeast Division, the Mavericks certainly remember the image of Miami players dancing on Dallas' home floor in celebration.
So when the NBA's best team from last season faces the best team so far this season on Sunday in Miami, the Mavericks will be looking for some tiny measure of revenge.
"We've got a totally different team than we had last season," said Dallas guard Jason Terry, whose team is 33-8 overall, 19-1 in its last 20 games. "I mean, it will be in the back of your mind, but what can you do? They're not going to give up their rings if we beat them."
At least one of the integral parts of last season's finals won't be around Sunday; Heat coach Pat Riley is recovering from a procedure to remove cartilage from his knee and a subsequent hip-replacement surgery.
But Miami may get another key face back. Center Shaquille O'Neal is listed as day-to-day, said interim coach Ron Rothstein, and it's possible that he'll return following a 33-game hiatus following surgery to repair torn knee cartilage.
Even if O'Neal plays, he'll be rusty. And that's one of the reasons why Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse - who was suspended for one game of the finals after tackling O'Neal on a fast break - said this game will be missing some of its luster.
"The second meeting will be more of an indicator of the two teams," Stackhouse said. "When Shaq gets back into the mix, you'll be able to tell more. Will we see the team we saw last year when they were clicking on all cylinders in the finals?"
They clearly aren't clicking on all cylinders now - while Dallas is. The Mavericks are 26-0 when outshooting opponents, 26-1 when outrebounding foes and 28-2 when holding teams under 100 points.
"They're arguably the best team right now," Heat forward Antoine Walker said. "They've been able to stay injury-free. They've been able to add their new pieces and not lose a beat. You could say they're a team that's determined. They lost in the finals. They're a very focused group. They're taking every game very seriously."
Miami is coming off a 98-95 overtime loss Friday at Philadelphia - the worst team in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst so far this season in the NBA. The Heat haven't been at the .500 mark since they were 3-3 on Nov. 12, and have already lost nine times at home.
Still, the Heat entered Saturday only five games in the loss column behind Washington and Cleveland in the overall East standings.
"We're a little down, but fortunately, nobody in the East has took off," Walker said. "Last year Detroit kind of took off and separated itself from everybody. We still get very high hopes when we look in the loss column. Obviously our record isn't what we want it to be, but when we look at the loss column we get real happy."
 
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