The 2011 NBA Finals tip off tonight between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. A rematch of the 2006 Finals which was won by Miami in six games. The 2006 Miami team features Dwayne Wade and Shaq at his prime, this years Miami team obviously has a new look.
This is the second NBA Finals appearance for both teams, the first being against each other in 2006. American Airlines will be scoring BIG in these finals, as they both own the naming rights of both Miami and Dallas home arenas.
The Dallas Mavericks won both regular season meetings 106-95 and 98-96.
NOTABLES:
– First time since 2006 that neither the Los Angeles Lakers nor the San Antonio Spurs will represent the Western Conference in the Finals
– Thirteenth consecutive NBA Finals to feature a Western Conference Champion from either the states of California or Texas
– Only the second time that the Eastern Conference had home court advantage during the Finals since the end of the Michael Jordan era in 1998
– First time a Finals game is to be played in the month of May since 1986
– First time the championship series begins on a Tuesday since 1990
– Among the players from both teams, only Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry of Dallas, and Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem of Miami, appeared in the 2006 series with the same team
TSN SCHEDULE:
Game 1 May 31, 2011 8:00pm (MIAMI)
Game 2 June 2, 2011 8:00pm (MIAMI)
Game 3 June 5, 2011 7:00pm (DALLAS)
Game 4 June 7, 2011 8:00pm (DALLAS)
Game 5 June 9, 2011 8:00pm (if necessary) (DALLAS)
Game 6 June 12, 2011 7:00pm (if necessary) (MIAMI)
Game 7 June 14, 2011 8:00pm (if necessary) (MIAMI)
I’ve been on the Miami Heat wagon since the beginning of the season… but after watching Dirk during this playoff run, there is no one that deserves it more. Dirk has been playing Jordanesque games and is simply unstoppable. My money is on Dallas this year.
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Image xuedfaehospgf7eivbrki29u2 Originally uploaded by AccessWinnipeg
