The Heat's 6-foot-8 forward Udonis Haslem is used to guarding taller opponents, but they rarely possess the long-range shooting prowess of Mavericks 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki. Haslem, who normally patrols the paint, must chase Nowitzki beyond the 3-point line where the sweet-stroking German has made a respectable 17 of 43, while averaging 28.4 points this postseason. "I'm not trying to shut him down, just make him work hard," Haslem said. "It's tough because at 7-0 he can still shoot over me, but I'll try to take away his air space." The danger of having Haslem guard Nowitzki on the perimeter is that the former Gator will be out of position for defensive rebounds, his forte. "Maybe so, but we still got the Big Fella [Shaquille O'Neal] down there, and Dwyane Wade's a good rebounder for a guard, and James Posey will get his," said Haslem, who has averaged 7.8 rebounds in the postseason. While the Heat has slightly outrebounded the Bulls, Nets and Pistons in the first three rounds, the Mavericks have dominated the glass in all 17 postseason games, an NBA record, by an average of 42.9 to 36.3 rebounds per game. Haslem, who gives four inches to Nowitzki, won his matchups against Nets 7-footer Nenad Krstic and a gimpy (6-11) Rasheed Wallace of the Pistons in the last two rounds, respectively. "Udonis is used to playing against big guys," coach Pat Riley said. "The [last] two rounds may have benefited us because he was playing against length. Now, Dirk is a different deal because he puts it on the floor and drives it. He's a whole different package." The long-armed 6-8 Posey certainly will receive a turn at shadowing Nowitzki. --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.104.138.178