The Miami Heat held obvious high expectations heading into the 2013-2014 NBA season. Coming off a second-straight championship, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the entire Heat roster knew a target would be on their backs right from the opening tip since every team around the league would put forth their best effort when taking on the champs. Starting the season in slow fashion however, Miami struggled to find the consistency that helped them take down the San Antonio Spurs in last season's NBA Finals. To no surprise, the pride of South Beach appears back on track after winning four of their last five games following a 1-2 start and with a showdown against the Dallas Mavericks on the schedule next, Miami hopes to earn another victory over their formidable Western Conference opponents.
Winners of four-consecutive against the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron and company will look to extend their recent luck over the 2011 NBA Champions when they host Dirk Nowitzki's squad at American Airlines Arena Friday night. The biggest reason for Miami's recent success over Dallas has been the play of the four-time League MVP. Averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds in the last four meetings, LeBron James continues to serve as nothing short of a nightmare for a Mavericks squad looking to improve upon last season's 10th place finish in the Western Conference.
"We're getting better each and every game," Mavs forward Vince Carter, who helped the team to a 105-95 victory over Washington in their last game, said recently. "Our rotations are better. Our individual defense has been better. But just more than anything our help side and our team defense has been better, and it's fueled our offense."
Ending the current losing streak on the road won't be easy for a Dallas team who is giving up over 103 points per game to opponents this season. The Mavericks have been able to score however, which has helped keep them in games this season with the defense struggling at times. Set to take on a Miami team that is currently ranked fourth in total team scoring, Dallas understands the challenge that lies ahead, even if Miami coach Erik Spoelstra isn't quite ready to praise his team's cohesiveness just yet.
"It wasn't perfect," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Miami's recent win over the Milwaukee Bucks. "There were still some areas we definitely need to improve on, in terms of the details and discipline. But at least the effort, the effort, the activity was better, the disposition right from the beginning and it carried through once we got into the rotation."
With each team posting identical records and similar overall statistics, expect the upcoming throw down in South Beach to be a tight one, with Dallas set on ending their current skid against the champs.
Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks: DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Friday, November 15
TIME: 7:30pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: FSSW (Dallas area) / SUN (Miami area) / NBA League Pass
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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