The NBA Finals are finished and the Heat are the champs. I didn’t expect Miami to be able to walk in to Dallas and get the victory in Game 6, but it was able to do just that, once again holding a huge edge in free-throw attempts, 37-23. The Heat wound up being the better team with the best player and, more importantly, the better coach.

In my perspective, Pat Riley and his staff made the difference in this series. Dallas had gotten to the finals by beating San Antonio and Phoenix because of matchups. The Mavericks were simply too quick for the Spurs and too big and deep for the Suns. They figured to have both edges against the Heat, but the Heat coaches figured out a way to neutralize those supposed edges.

Dirk Nowitzki stepped up tonight for the Mavericks, scoring 29 points and grabbing 15 boards, but he got little help form his teammates. Jason Terry was really the only other consistent threat in the series for the Mavericks. No one else was able to hurt the Heat. This was unlike the previous two Dallas series in which Devin Harris and Josh Howard were big factors and other players like Keith Van Horn and Jerry Stackhouse made significant contributions.

The Heat did a great job in controlling the tempo of the series, never letting Dallas get on a roll and get easy buckets or open looks. This was definitely Eastern Conference basketball, and as much as the Mavericks liked to think that they could win a series playing this way, they were not capable. Yes, the Mavericks improved defensively under Avery Johnson, but even in their last two series they had to outscore the Spurs and Suns, something they were not able to do against the Heat. Miami was successful in turning this series into a half-court game.

I thought the Heat made more and better adjustments as the series went on, while Dallas never really varied from its offensive plan.

The Heat also had the best player on the court in Dwyane Wade. Wade was able to bail out the Heat time after time on offensive possessions. He got to the bucket or foul line anytime he wanted in the final few games, especially in crunch time.

As good as Nowitzki is, he was not able to do the same against the Heat double teams. Nowitzki had been able to use his quickness against bigger players or his size against quicker players against the Spurs and Suns, but Riley knew that he couldn’t hurt them if he had to give up the ball. Terry was treated the same way and once the ball left his or Nowitzki’s hands, no one else was able to step up for the Mavericks.  

The thing about this series is that even though Wade was brilliant, it was Riley who made the right adjustments to give his team a chance. Dallas had a 2-0 lead and a big lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3 before blowing it down the stretch. Had Dallas won and gone up 3-0, it would have been lights out. The Mavericks also had a great chance to win Game 5 in Miami and go up 3-2, but the questionable calls and decisions down the stretch cost them that game as well. I am sure that it will be a long summer for Johnson and his troops playing the “what if” game.