Heat: Can Miami Sweep the Mavs?

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle may have to go back to the drawing board, and go back to it quick.

With the way the Heat looked in the fourth quarter of Game One of the NBA Finals, this series might already be over.

Miami looked sharp on Tuesday, mainly because they hadn't shown signs of physical strain. This is a team that hasn't tired in the playoffs, and that endurance has spilled over into the series with the Mavericks.

The Heat were led by LeBron James, who scored 24 and added nine rebounds. It was his first win in the NBA Finals, and judging by his effort, it won't be his last.

At the 2:48 mark in the fourth quarter, James threw down a dunk so powerful, that American Airlines Arena erupted like the Larry O'Brien trophy was in the bag.

James certainly doesn't look fatigued, and that's bad news for a Mavericks team that only has Shawn Marion to effectively guard him. DeShawn Stevenson did a decent job against James, but more needs to be done to force him into outside shots, and not the full court and penetration game that James wants to play.

When James slammed home an alley oop from Dwyane Wade, there was a sense that Game One might be a preview of what's to come.

Injury questions have surround Wade going into the series, but he not only played well in the series opener, but had one of his best performances of the postseason.

Dirk Nowitzki has to be wondering what happened. He might have expected that there was a huge run left in the Mavericks like they had against the athletic Oklahoma City Thunder, but the Heat's defense was just that good. Instead of going on a run, the Mavs went cold.

Dallas was held to their lowest shooting percentage of the playoffs -- only 37 percent. They were also out-rebounded 46-36.

Nowitzki and Shawn Marion seemed to be the only Mavericks who played with any inspiration offensively. Should the Mavericks make a series out of this, they're going to need to get more production from Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, and certainly J.J. Barea.

The Mavericks can make it a series if they can turn the game into a shootout. That would throw Miami off its rhythm, and perhaps test their bench's fitness.

Otherwise, Miami might have their eyes on a sweep.

The Heat only needed five games to defeat all three of their playoff opponents, and by winning Game One so convincingly in the fourth quarter of the Finals, the Mavericks have to feel demoralized.

Though he should be ready for Game Two, Nowitzki injured his finger in his non-shooting hand. The 7'0 forward needs to deliver the same type of magic he had against the Lakers and Thunder if they Mavs expect to comeback in the series.

Even if Nowitzki puts up big numbers, the Mavs will still need to contain James, Wade and Chris Bosh.

At this point, that's a very tall order.