What Dallas Mavericks Must Do Now in Game 4 After Loss 2 to the Heat

NBA Finals game 1 went to the Miami Heat and the sports world turned upside down, with some speculating Dirk Nowitzki was history and LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh had entered the killing zone. But Nowitzki smacked down that rumor like he smacks down that basketball on the court, yanking game 2 from Dallas with ferocity in the final seconds of play. Now, the Heat has barely taken game 3 on the scoreboard (88 - 86) and everyone wants to know the million dollar question: Can Dirk Nowitzki take game 4 or is the Mavericks all washed up from here?

According to Boston.com, Udonis Haslem has been sent to be Nowitzki's worst nightmare from here on out, dogging his every step and in game 3 after he flubbed the gig in game 2, allowing Dirk to take it home on the scoreboard. As you can see: the Heat learns quickly what they need to correct.

The Dallas Mavericks need to do the same. They need to mirror the action of the Heat in order to counteract the Miami team's success on the court. Udonis Haslem has been tagged to hang on Dirk Nowitzki like glue, so the Mavericks coach needs to put someone on Dwayne Wood who can't be cast off come hell or high water.

Dallas can win the NBA Finals against Miami, but they are going to have to play a new ballgame to do it. Business as usual won't work anymore. They've got to give as good as they get and in order to do that, they've got to do like a criminal profiler: get in the mind of their opponent.

Prior to game two, when others were lamenting the end of the Mavericks, this writer touted "Clever game strategy" would save the day for Dallas. The Mavericks mixed it up and won the day that game. And they can do it again.

Nobody's better on the court than Dirk Nowitzki. He's got NBA teammates that came through in game 2 when the Heat was on, of course, but he's the go-to man with the ball, when it comes right down to it. Miami knows it. That's why they are stuck on him like white on rice.

But Miami can't win if they can't score, no matter how much they double up on Nowitzki. It's time for the Mavericks to pull out all the stops and play a game all about stopping the Heat than scoring the shot. Then, at the end of the hour Nowitzki can shoot to save the day, like he did in game 2. Because, in the end, it isn't the number of points on the scoreboard; it's the fact that you win the game, if only by 2 points, as the Heat just did.

Resource: Boston.com