But Butler hasn’t even been cleared for contact yet. Even in the unlikely event that he can play, it’s crazy to believe that Butler could just chip off more than five months of rust to compete against King James. That’s too bad, especially because Butler got the best of LeBron James during the Mavs’ regular-season sweep of the Heat. Butler averaged 18 points on 54.2 percent shooting in the Mavs’ two wins over Miami. James had subpar performances in both games, averaging 21 points on 30.5 percent shooting, although he produced 9.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists. When Butler was on the floor, James averaged 17.7 points per 36 minutes on 28 percent shooting. Butler’s numbers against LeBron: 23.8 points per 36 minutes on 57 percent shooting. The Mavs outscored the Heat by 28 points in the 53 minutes both players were on the floor. All their critics were happy to see the Heat losing most especially James former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Miami’s Big Three were keen on playing for their championship as the three NBA superstars played together and silenced their critics. James and Wade had their big nights making big plays for their team. The duo wreak havoc in the back court with their defensive posture.

These teams are here because they were the teams executing at the end of games – both sides have tremendous come-from-behind wins and both have just simply out executed their opponents in the clutch. Both have seen their best players – Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James – win games with jump shots. No lead will feel safe in this series, especially late. That said, both teams benefited from playing teams that helped out with tight play and poor execution under pressure last series. That will not be the case now, one team will need to step up. One key so far is that Dallas has not played fantastic defense, they’ve been just pretty average through the playoffs. Dallas has won with their offense. Miami’s defense, on the other hand, has been impressive. Their athleticism challenges everything, takes away passing lanes and they have been physical with everyone. This will be a different kind of test because Dallas is a jump shooting team – pack it in to take away the paint like the Heat did against the Bulls and the Mavs will shoot and make right over the top, something Chicago failed to do. Either Miami’s defense or the Mavs offense has to give way, and that will be key.