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Chris Bosh Details Miami’s Meltdown Against The Dallas Mavericks In 2011 Finals: “Psychologically, We Weren’t Prepared For That”
After acquiring LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010, the Miami Heat instantly made the impression that they were the team to beat in the NBA around that time. In their first year together, it looked like LeBron James will finally capture his first ring, and the Larry O’Brien Trophy will head back to South Beach.
However, the Dallas Mavericks, led by Dirk Nowitzki, proved everyone wrong and beat the Heat in six games during the 2011 NBA Finals.
The Mavericks put on a show in the playoffs, swept the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, yet they were pretty much disrespected by countless of fans who thought the Heat got everything all locked up.
Chris Bosh, who was a an instrumental piece to the Heat’s four-year run, now detailed their 2011 meltdown against the Mavericks during his appearance on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast. The retired Heat legend claimed that they were not psychologically prepared during that disappointing series.
“I think as a team, just having that toughness. Understanding that they’re a great team too and it’s going to be runs and stuff. I think we hung our heads way too much, we weren’t alert. It was some simple things that they did. You know just those team-building concepts, just those small things like calling that switch under five seconds.
“That last four, last three and a half seconds where you’ll see good teams continue to make the next play and make the next closeout. And they’re going to keep making the right pass. They had the trust. Psychologically, we weren’t prepared for that. We let guys get off and let that damage or psyche.”
“I think after that we understood that it’s a game of runs. They might have a run, we might have a run. Let’s keep playing, let’s go to the next play. Let’s get a stop, let’s get a bucket. You know those intangibles, we got way better at that. It was a huge lesson learnt,” Bosh concluded.
