NBA Finals Super Preview: 5 Match-Ups to Look Out For

Sometime between the end of the 2006 NBA Finals and the start of this year’s NBA Finals next week, Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki has had one thing on his mind: payback.

Denied the first time by the combination of Dwyane Wade’s brilliance and the referee’s biasness, Dirk, Jason Terry, and the rest of the Mavericks are back in the NBA Finals against a familiar foe: the Miami Heat.

While the cast of characters may have changed – for one, the King himself, LeBron James is wearing a Heat uniform – the animosity between the two franchises remains as thick as Charles Barkley’s noggin.

Clearly, for the Mavericks, this series was a long time in the making, born out of missed opportunities and haunted by the sight of the Heat celebrating on their home floor.

For Miami, this Finals series is a shot at sticking it to every critic, naysayer, and hater that came out of the woodwork when LeBron and Chris Bosh “took their talents to South Beach” to join D-Wade in the quest for that elusive championship.

For every shot LeBron took for ‘The Decision’ and for every vile and hate the Big 2 ½ received for their ill-conceived and possibly premature title celebration back in October, the fact remains that the Heat are right where they thought they’d be – and everybody else is watching them on TV.

Two teams sharing one goal, yet traveling vastly different roads. One team is looking to purge the demons of 2006 and finally stake their claim to the title. The other is looking for their own vindication and a shot at proving the haters wrong.

Two teams. One road to immortality.

The Dallas Mavericks versus the Miami Heat for the 2011 NBA Championship.

It’s on. Click on the next page now to check out the five match-ups we need to look out for in these Finals.

NEXT PAGE: Will Dallas be able to keep up with James and Wade?