2011 NBA Championship Betting

Dallas Mavericks vrs. Miami Heat

Series Odds : Dallas +155 / Miami -175
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

Game 1 – Tuesday May 31, at 9:00 p.m. ET

Miami has bulldozed its way into the Finals, crushing the top-seeded Bulls by winning four straight after losing the series opener. The Heat have been dominant against the spread, covering four straight games on NBA odds and going 8-2 in their past 10 games against the spread.

But while Dwyane Wade is around to remind Dallas of its previous failures, the Heat have a decidedly different look in 2011—most notably the addition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. James has been sensational, averaging 26.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game during the postseason. That doesn’t even factor in his excellent defense and clutch play in the fourth quarter.

Wade, though, is a bit of a concern. Though James has surpassed him as the defacto leader of the franchise, D-Wade is still crucial to Miami’s playoff hopes—or, at least you’d assume he was. Wade didn’t play very well against the Bulls, averaging just 18.8 points per game and getting held to less than 20 points three times. In Game 5, Wade was seen nursing his shoulder on the bench. The Heat won in spite of Wade’s subpar performance, but they may not be so lucky against the Mavericks.

Dallas needed just five games to finish off the young and talented Oklahoma City Thunder, including three straight wins to close out the series. Dallas has been incredible on NBA odds during the postseason, going 12-2-1 against the spread.

Dirk Nowitzki has been at the eye of the storm. Once labelled a playoff choker, Nowitzki has gone a long way to shredding that label in 2011. The big German is averaging 28.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. He raised his game even higher against the Thunder, scoring 40-plus points twice, averaging 32.2 points and shooting 55.6 percent from the field.

And while Miami is credited for having a Big Three, Dallas is hardly a one-man team. Jason Terry—the only other current Maverick who faced Miami in the 2006 Finals—is averaging 17.3 points per game. Terry is a little inconsistent, but he offers the occasional explosive performance.

The real surprise against the Thunder was Shawn Marion, who morphed back into “The Matrix” a few times. Not only did he play phenomenal defense on Kevin Durant and Co.—which will be crucial in slowing LeBron James—Marion had 18 and 26-point outbursts.

Miami and Dallas faced off twice in the regular season. The Mavericks won and covered both times; a 106-95 home win in November, and a 98-96 road win in December. The total went over both times.