No timetable is slated as of yet, but things won’t be rushed:

“He’s up walking around … but we’re not going to put a timetable on when he’ll come back,” Spoelstra said. “Thankfully, he’s not in a cast or a boot. So we’ll see how he responds each day, and we’ll go from there.”

Add this to the pile of things wrong with Wade. A bruised left foot, strained calf, and now the ankle, are all the things “old man” Wade is dealing with.

In all honesty, the best policy for the Heat right now would be to give Wade the time he needs to get fully healed and return to action at his own pace. Israel Gutierrez agrees. This team is playoff bound on talent alone and although seeding is always important, in such a short season just getting in is crucial. Right now the Heat are in a dead heat with the Hawks and the Magic, but realistically which of those teams are better than the Heat?

After probably the most heavily scrutinized season in any professional sport, the Heat made it all the way to the Finals with a chance to win the whole darned thing. That should be valued as a successful season for any team, let alone this one. The level of expectation being so high says a lot, however. The Heat’s take-no-prisoners proclamation at the beginning of the season makes them the bad guys. Stating publicly what your lofty goals are is hybris in the eyes of the media. You have to earn it.

Jason Terry flaunts a trophy tattoo on his right arm and everyone thinks that is endearing. He is only trying to give himself a goal. Maybe because he choked so bad in the 2006 series, and was no where to be found for the most part in this current series, he was given a free pass.

Yet no other team was so heavily attacked and scrutinized, you have to wonder what effect it had on this series – did it affect the officiating, for example? Lebron James averaged about 9 free throw attempts per game in the regular season but struggled to find 4 in the Finals in any game. Is it possible that taking away a large part of James’ game, drawing contact and while getting to the rim and getting FTAs, may have had a dampening effect on his game? You bet. The outside opinions speak volumes. Here are a few that badmouth the Heat.

Ohio Governor John Kasich proclaims a resolution for the Mavericks beating Lebron James

A sense of entitlement keeps the Heat from winning

First of all, a governor wasting any time worrying about Lebron James just goes to show you how screwed up the politics are in his state. No wonder the economy sucks in Ohio. Then, to say the Heat lost the Finals because of their sense of entitlement is definitely a sign of a bitter axe to grind. Let’s totally block out the fact that another team was playing in the series, one that was making more and better shots as the series pushed on and played stingier defense, too. This is just a taste of what the Heat have faced this season – a bitter public invested in the idea of pointing the blame at one person alone – Lebron James.

If you can remove James from the Heat, maybe the story changes. The perception definitely would as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are not as polarizing as James. But you can’t remove James from this team. He is a part of it – he is a part of why they got this far. Anyone else saying otherwise is just being blinded by their own hatred of James and his Decision. Most are so overly invested in The Decision that they are indeed held hostage by it. You can’t explain why so many are, but you can’t explain anything about the Heat’s situation without it.

The reason why the Heat lost this series, on their end, was they stopped playing defense. When the series started, the Mavs were overwhelmed by the speed of this team’s defense. Everyone was showering praise on the Heat’s ability to close out on shooters and force the Mavs to speed up their shots, putting them out of rhythm. The Heat also swarmed in and forced the Mavs to be a one-man team, daring Dirk to beat them. As the series wore on, not only did the Mavs start hitting their three point shots with regularity, but the rest of the team started to contribute on the offensive end as well. Jason Terry, who had never even gotten off the bus, had started hitting shots and doing his biplane thing on the court. JJ Barrea started scoring. Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd. Everyone.

The criticism focused on Lebron James and his lack of contribution in games. He even had a triple double in Game 5, the first since 2000, but that didn’t satisfy. Jason Terry scores 17 points and labels about him being overrated are ripped off immediately.

The Mavs made plays. They took advantage of every opportunity presented to them. On the Heat side, they were listless. Even Dwyane Wade fumbled a last chance possession in Game 4 and no one whispered about it. It was all about James and his lack of contribution.

The Heat came together for the simple fact that this game is dictated by matchups and when you have 3 of the best on the floor at their positions, you have a chance to win on any night and at any stage of the series. What emerged was that the Heat got beat by a team that just played better. Sure, the Heat are more talented and we like to think they will be back. The fact is the other teams in the East are going to be gunning for them. But it wasn’t ego that kept this team from grabbing the ring. It was a breakdown in execution, an apathetic defense, some bull-headed coaching decisions. More importantly, it was a Mavericks team that had a miracle rebirth at the end of Game 2 in this series. With 6 minutes to go, they ran their offense right past a Heat team playing to run out the clock. A run that was more heavily characterized by bad defensive execution and organization than anything else. If the Heat played defense like they had been all series, to that point, the Mavs don’t score 17 points in that final span.

You can argue it was their ego that assumed they would win and thereby gave up Game 2. Sure, you can say that, but ego was the reason why they played better defense in Game 3 and the reason why they won that game. They felt like they were the better team and wanted to prove it. Ego is not necessarily a bad thing, it is a must thing, a vital thing. In order to survive and thrive, you have to have an identity with which to hold tightly to. The Heat envisioned themselves as champions, as a dynasty. That was a proclamation at the beginning of the season. Now the Mavs deflated that vision a bit, but this is still the beginning of a run, not the end. The Heat will learn from this, just as they did after Game 2. They will learn, and they are humbled by this, sure. Yet, ego will give them the fire to pick themselves back up off the floor and demand that they get back for another shot at the ring.

In a way, it was – just not for Lebron James, but instead for Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavericks beat the Miami Heat on their home court in Game 6 to take the title for the NBA’s best team this season. They did it with heart, with grit, and by never failing to believe in themselves. These were supposed to be the traits the Miami Heat were going to display on their way to an inevitable title. The Mavs proved themselves to be the better team while winning two games in Miami – a feat not accomplished at all during this postseason by any other team. The Mavs proved to have the better offense, despite being characterized as a one-man team while the Heat had their big three. The Mavs also proved to be the better defensive team, the better coached team, the deeper team. They held all the intangibles as the series ground down to its eventual conclusion.

While there is going to be a lot of criticism mounted on the Heat, the fact that they ran their way to the NBA Finals in their first year as a team should not be forgotten or overlooked. It is extremely hard to get to an NBA Finals, just ask the Bulls and Celtics as both franchises felt they were in contention. The Heat should not be characterized as anything other than the best team in the Eastern Conference. Their failure in winning the title was not so much by their own doing as it was also by the Mavericks making the most of every opportunity that came their way. There was a chance to rally at the end of Game 2, the Mavs did it instead of laying down and accepting they weren’t supposed to win. Game 3 saw a defensive stalemate bested by a Bosh jumper on the wing – it could have gone either way. The Mavericks talked up their game and came out the more desperate team and stole Game 4. They pushed the issue in Game 5. And when you thought their time was up and the Heat were going to get back on track, they came down to Miami and snap the neck of their mighty opponent on their home floor. Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t lead his team there, they carried him to his first ever title.

And the party is still going on in Dallas.

As Heat fans, we will try to rationalize this loss. We will say, they’ll be back and we will point towards the future as it is human nature to point to ever-fertile potential of tomorrow. Still, we will have to swallow losing to Dallas in 6 games on our home floor despite what we thought our hometown heroes were capable of. In truth, it is a good start for this new team, to have a little bitterness mixed in with sweetness. The fact is, the Mavs were ready and the Heat were not. They should be commended for their accomplishment. Now, the Heat have to look to the Mavs to try and learn what went wrong. And to not make the same mistake again.

But, no one is giving the Mavs any credit. They are saying that the Heat lost this game and point the finger to Lebron, who attempted only 1 shot in the 4th quarter. They almost steer clear of any mentioning of how the Mavs had more at stake and how Dwyane Wade made some critical mistakes down the stretch, too.

Let’s not forget the Mavs: they had quite a bit of drama heading into last night’s game 4. Dirk Nowitzki played with a 101 degree fever. Jason Terry found himself admitting that Lebron James had shut him down in Games 1 and 3, but not in Game 2 and asked if Lebron could keep it up for seven games. Deshawn Stevenson called Dwyane Wade and Lebron James great actors.

The Heat? Stayed composed. There was no fire across the bow. No diatribe to spark paper clipping collecting. Simply put, the Heat got beat. They got beat by a team that was at home, more desperate for a win, and fed off of that scenario to get it done. You tip your cap to your opponent, make no excuses, and get back to work.

Yes, the Heat were able to build up leads throughout the game, but the Mavs were able to answer and go on runs. You will hear coaches so this is a make or miss league. Some nights, with even matches, you will make a shot and you’re the hero. You miss a shot, and you’re the goat. (See Dirk Nowitzki in Game 2 then in Game 3.) The Heat made shots in Game 3, the Mavs made the shots in Game 4. Yet, even that isn’t such a strong indication of this game.

The Mavs shot 6-19, 32% in the 4th while the Heat shot 32%. Despite the horrific field goal percentages, the Mavs outscored the Heat 21-9 over the final 9:58 of the game. The Heat offense does get clunky at times, but the only player able to score consistently throughout the game was Dwyane Wade, who scored 32 points on 13-20 shooting. Chris Bosh did score 24 points on 9-19 shooting, but most of that scoring came in the first quarter.

Lebron James only put in 8 points and was largely lost in the game outside of some spectacular assists and strong defense. Deshawn Stevenson claims James “checked out”.

Realistically, a finger can be pointed at Wade, too. He did drop the ball on a possession that would have given the Heat a chance for a shot at the end of the game but also, he missed one of two free throws which would have had a larger impact on the end of the game.

Speaking of, no team seemed to have the ability to score for the final minutes of the quarter. In fact, in the final 2:16 of the game the Mavs hit 4-4 on FTs while making only 1 FG. The Heat were 3-4 on FTs while only making one field goal as well. So it wasn’t like anyone shut it down and put this game to bed at the end of the game.

The Mavs should have blown out the Heat last night. They got more production from their bench and their starters than the Heat did. Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Deshawn Stevenson, and Dirk Nowitzki all had double figures in scoring. For the Heat, only Wade and Bosh had double figures. The Mavs shot 39% while the Heat shot 42% but a lot of the Mavs shots were misses – not because of the Heat defense, but just because they were rimming out. Nowitzki actually should have had a lot more production, considering his 6-19 night and fever, his shots were just spinning out.

The Mavs should have won last night’s game and in truth, it was expected. The Heat really didn’t have much business being in this game with Lebron only scoring 8 points and getting very little production from the rest of their team. Outside of a 40+ point performance from either Wade or Bosh, the Heat just had too flat of an offense and defensively were not able to solve Chandler’s offensive rebounding (9) and Marion’s clean-up offense. They were at home, got more FTs and had more to play for than the Heat.

If the Heat have shown anything this year, it is their ability to play better when the drama increases. They will get their chance to do so because, statistically, the winner of Game 5 with a series tied 2-2 wins the trophy 73% of the time. If the Heat can pull it off, they will go back to Miami up 3-2 with a 9-1 record at home this postseason.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Dirk Nowitzki got the shot he wanted, although tightly defended by Haslem, but it just bounced off the rim. Game. Buzzer. Heat up 2-1.

And we all know the stat. Since the change in format, teams are 11-0 when they win Game 3 in the Finals. So, the notion is basically pencil in the Heat for a championship. Not so fast. The Heat are still a team haunted by the meltdown – or the choke – they went through in Game 2 as the Mavericks roared past them with 6:22 to go to take the game by 2 points. In fact, it may have been in response to this that the Heat came out firing after halftime, starting with a 6-0 run to push their lead up.

In the end though, it was Bosh, having an off night, who was the hero and Nowitzki, scoring 34 points, who came up short. Most in the media say that the Mavs have to get more firepower around Nowitzki – yet chastised the Heat for assembling three of the best free agents on the market to get where they are. Funny how perceptions change – or are conveniently subjective.

This was a game the Heat won with their defense – despite some very questionable calls from the refs (6 straight free throws for Nowitzki from 4:56-3:03 in the final quarter). They won it with their defense, on the last possession on the road. This is a huge win for this team, especially after giving one away in Game 2.

You can’t just get apathetic in the middle of a game and think your opponent is so weak-minded they will just lay down and die. The Mavericks have a collection of old farts that don’t know when to quit. Yes, you may be faster and quicker and sexier, but there is a reason why they are representing the Western conference. Just ask OKC if a lead is safe with them.

Look, let’s not overreact. The Heat are not all of a sudden bums. The media will prop up Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki as if they are immortals, and overstate their heroics, but the fact of the matter is Miami choked this game away themselves – they gave it away. Who knows why they were feeling so charitable.

The problem? This was vintage Miami Heat 2010 – when they were struggling to beat good teams and everyone was dumping on them. The cause? Lebron’s Cleveland Clearout tactics resurfaced. Wade was the hot hand in this game. He was vintage 2006 – the Mavs killer. Mark Cuban was practically going into shell shock, rocking himself back and forth for most of this game – but in the end, he would be celebrating and dancing and laughing. The sad thing is, it wasn’t the Mavs that took the ball out of the Heat’s hottest hand – it was the Heat themselves. They kept going to Lebron who kept plopping his rock at the top of the key for his typical 10-15 second shot clock run off – only when the Heat play bad. This would result in containment from the Mavs zone defense and Lebron hoisting up a desperate shot to beat the final ticks of the shot clock.

Meanwhile, Wade couldn’t get around Jason Kidd’s defense. The guy he previously said he was watching on black and white TV. Really?

Miami just played bad basketball – something they were probably due for considering they have been pulling out some close ones here in this postseason in the last few. Instead, they got punked this time and played like a bunch of rookies who didn’t know how to close out a team. This one hurts. This one stings. And it should. Because Miami is the better team in this series – and still is. No matter what the media says about the Heat and the miraculous comeback of the Mavs over the next few days, it still remains that the Mavs have no answer for the Heat’s defense and can’t stop Wade and James. The only people on that court that can stop the Heat are themselves.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Game 3, down 0-2, would have seen a fierce Mavs team backed into a corner with their fans heading back to AAC. Now, some of that pressure is diffused and the Mavs may be feeling pretty good about their chances. Maybe they start believing in themselves now. The Heat will have to bring it and will have to bring it from start to finish. They can’t play apathetically, they can’t be lazy. It’s a harsh lesson to learn – especially in the midst of a championship series – but learn it you must at some point. Lebron, for all his accolades of late, still only has 1 Finals win. Wade has 5 – and was the instrument of doom against the Mavs back in 2006. The Heat need to remember that and need to recall the pecking order here. Time to get back to reality and this choke-job loss in front of the world will help humble them and get the Heat back to where they need to be. Focused on the next game and nothing more. No ring-sizing just yet.

Yet, if the pundits are going to have their due, they are going to cite the bench scoring for both teams. The Heat poured in 27 from their bench while the Mavs only yielded 17. In fact, Dirk Nowitzki was a large part of their offense, as usual, dropping 27 points on 7-18 with 12-12 free throws. Credit the Heat’s defense, which was fixated on stopping Nowitzki with double teams and getting him out of his comfort zone when shooting. He did end up missing 11 shots while making only 7, and although he had 27 points, he was noticeably slowed down.

The Heat defense has not gotten enough credit, but it soon will. The ability to double team Dirk and then quickly recover is something only the Heat can do. The Thunder and Lakers were unable to do that and Nowitzki was able to punish those teams.

The fact of the matter is, it is really hard to matchup against a team with Wade and Lebron on the floor at the same time. Take a look at Wade’s numbers – in the first half he struggled and scored only 7 points but in the second half, particularly the 4th quarter, he dropped in 15 points and lead the charge for his team to close out the Mavs. He blocked a shot, hit a three, and just had gained so much momentum that he showed why he haunted this Mavs team back in the 2006 Finals. He finished with 22 points 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Game 2 is on Thursday and the questions have been answered by the Heat. Now, it is the Mavs who will have many more questions to answer – can they find a way to matchup with Run DLC and slow down Wade, James, and Bosh? Can they find more offense from other sources on their team? Can the Mavs outrebound the Heat or will their athleticism outshine the Mavs?

Just a note – teams that win Game 1 win the series 73% of the time. But we know that didn’t hold up in the last Finals matchup between these two teams.

But here are some other memorable discussions we have on the MiamiHeatwave forum, also know (back then) as the MiamiHeatzone:

Are the Pistons done? Is Wade the next MJ?

Wade vs. Lebron argument

An Ironic Finish to Eastern Conference Finals

Anypoint’s NBA Finals Matchup Analysis – 2006

Is this the Heat’s only chance for a championship?

Haslem faces tough challenge in NBA Finals

Wade trapped by Mavs revolving door

Game #1 What We’ve Learned (2006 Finals)

Game #2 (2006 Finals)

Keys to winning Game 3 (2006 Finals)

Miraculous Game 3 (2006 Finals)

Game #4 (2006 Finals)

Mark Cuban complaining (Dirk “Hassellhoff” masks)

Game #5 (2006 Finals)

Mavs are Handling This Wrong (prior to Game 6)

And here are the actual gameday threads from the Finals back in 2006:

Game 1 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Game 2 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Game 3 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 4 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 5 Mavs @ Heat 2006 NBA Finals

Game 6 Heat @ Mavs 2006 NBA Finals

Here are the highlights:

What about their players, where do they stack up? Suddenly Scottie Pippen is remarking that Lebron James might go down as a better player than Michael Jordan. Jordan was, according to Pippen, the best scorer he’s seen while Lebron is the best all around player he’s ever seen. Later, Pippen, backed off a bit via his tweet:

“Don’t get me wrong, MJ was and is the greatest. But LeBron could by all means get to his level someday.”

Why all of a sudden the confusion? Why was the Heat the most scrutinized team in NBA history to begin with? Admittedly, it all goes back to the Decision. Yet, look at Derrick Rose – the league MVP. Why was he getting all the PR from the talking heads while Lebron, and the Heat, continued to be lambasted?

Derrick Rose shot just 6.4% when guarded by Lebron James. When defended by Dwyane Wade, he didn’t fare much better either. The fact of the matter is, what Derrick Rose is experiencing is what both Wade and James went through. You win over 60 games, get the coach of the year award, an MVP, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Who are you? The 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lebron James didn’t want to go through what Derrick Rose is going through. He decided to take less money and swallow his pride and admitted that he needed to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to meet his expectation of winning championships in this league. James knows his greatness will be evaluated not just by his accomplishments, but by how many rings he gets. Even now, with Pippen’s remarks, Lebron is in the discussion in comparison with Michael Jordan, but only will truly be considered once he wins some rings.

So, you get beat up in the press for it. You beat the Celtics, a team that swept you in the regular season, then the Bulls, another team that swept you in the regular season, and only lose 3 games in the playoffs. Yet, at every turn, you were catching flack. Now, the hangover. Oh boy. Maybe this team is pretty good after all?

Michael Wilbon writes an essay trying to digest the Game 5 loss for the Bulls. He was obviously invested in his team, the Bulls, but his opinions seemed to be agreed upon by most of those in the media – and there was very little to support their picks for the Bulls over the Heat in this series. Ric Bucher, who I think is an extremely horrible judge of talent and terrible observer, defended Derrick Rose, irrationally, on Colin Cowherd’s radio show after Game 4. I wonder what he thinks now that Rose missed a free throw in the clutch.

The hangover spreads. Charles Barkley commented last night on TNT, after Game 5, why he picked the Bulls over the Heat – the Bulls bench was better. Does he realize you only play 5 guys at a time? The bench only comes into play when you rest your starters and with three starters of this caliber, there is practically never a minute that one of them is on the floor.

So, while the media backpeddles and lets this latest dish of crow cool off, let’s put this team in its proper place. They assembled because of the blueprint adopted by the Celtics and Lakers. If you wanted to win in the East, you had to get by the Celtics. They did. The Bulls, grabbing the number 1 seed, didn’t have to face the Celtics but the Heat proved they were the better team. No matter how “Hollywood” Joachim Noah might say the Heat are, he’s the one faking it and sitting at home watching them in the Finals. The Heat simply kicked off the party back in July when they landed the biggest free agent in NBA history in Lebron James – a feat not achieved without the certain additions of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. It took all the efforts hall of fame architect Pat Riley could muster. They’ve proven not only that they can play together, but that they can carry each other when needed. Lebron closed games. Bosh found his voice in becoming a force inside. Wade, playing horrible for stretches in Games 4 and 5, allowed himself to be carried.

Now, the masterpiece has been assembled. The critics are late to the party, but the quality of the assemblage is undeniable. Only one final obstacle lays in the way.