The Miami Heat’s star-studded Big Three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will host and play in a charity game dubbed “The South Florida All-Star Classic,” according to ESPN.com. The game will be held on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida International University, where Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is coach. All proceeds will benefit a charity supporting South Florida’s educational community.

The game adds to the number of exhibitions that NBA players are playing in this offseason during the N.B.A. lockout. James himself has appeared in a handful, including one on Sunday in Philadelphia. It will be the first time he, Wade and Bosh take the court together since last season’s NBA finals when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks.

About 20 NBA players will join the Big Three-they include fellow Heat teammate Mario Chalmers, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul, the Atlanta Hawks’ Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, the Washington Wizards’ John Wall, the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, the Dallas Mavericks’ Caron Butler, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, the Houston Rockets’ Jonny Flynn, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Lou Williams, the Golden State Warriors’ Dorell Wright, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews and free agent Eddy Curry.

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ESPN.com also notes that Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-round picks Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson also are possible participants in the game.

The two teams will be divided by those who endorse Nike, such as James and Bosh, and those who endorse Brand Jordan, such as Wade and Anthony. Miami-based rapper Rick Ross is expected to coach the Nike team, while comedian Kevin Hart, who has appeared in Brand Jordan commercials with Wade, is expected to coach the Jordan team.

Read More: nba schedule, 2011-12 cavs schedule, J.J. Hickson (F – SAC), Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA released the 2011-12 schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a triple-header of action on opening night – November 1 – that includes the World Champion Dallas Mavericks hosting the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder traveling to Los Angeles to face the Lakers.

One team NOT included in the opening night festivities are the Miami Heat.  They open the season on Wednesday, November 2 with a trip to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also open their 2011-12 season on the road, heading to Boston to face the Celtics.  Cleveland will take on the Toronto Raptors in the Home Opener at The Q on Friday, November 4.  Cleveland won’t spend long at home, however, taking their first trip to the West Coast starting November 6.  The Wine and Gold will play 3 games in 4 nights against the Los Angeles Clippers(11/6), Denver Nuggets(11/7) and Sacramento Kings(11/9) in the first meeting between the Cavaliers and J.J. Hickson.

What about the Miami Heat, you ask?  

The Cavaliers and Heat will play four times next season, with the Heat coming to Cleveland on Friday, November 18, a game that will be televised on ESPN.  The Heat will also be at The Q on February 17, 2012 while the Cavaliers will head to South Beach on March 7 and April 6.

The Novemeber 18th matchup is the only time the Cavaliers are scheduled to be on ESPN/ABC or TNT all season.  Cleveland will play 13 games in November, with 6 at home and 7 on the road.

Check out the complete 2011-12 NBA Schedule;  Cavaliers site Fear The Sword talk about the Cavs schedule as well!

By Tom Ziller

– NBA Contributor

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Jun 5, 2011 – The Miami Heat were minutes away from taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, holding a 15-point lead with just over half of the fourth quarter to go. Everything had seemingly gone right for Miami, as the team’s sterling defense had held up for the second time against Dallas’ kismet attack, and it’s offense was clicking (even as Chris Bosh struggled).

But it all fell apart down the stretch. The Miami offense went into clock-milking mode, which totally killed the flow and resulted in bad shot after bad shot. On the other end, Dallas used long rebounds to get out early and catch the Heat resistance unsettled and disorganized. That resulted in a 22-5 that sealed a win for the Mavericks, giving the West’s champion a 1-1 split in Miami. It was the Heat’s first home loss of the postseason.

They need it back in Game 3 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Mavericks are 7-1 at home this postseason, having lost Game 2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West finals. Miami is 4-3 on the road, with 1-1 splits in each of Philadelphia and Boston and a 2-1 roll in Chicago, where the Heat robbed home court advantage in Game 2 of the East finals and never looked back.

Game 2 in the East championship series is the last time the Heat found themselves trailing in a series; should the Mavericks win Game 3, Miami would be back in that spot. While we obviously know the Heat can bounce back, this Mavericks team seems to be made of different ingredients. When it’s pressed an advantage over opponents in these playoffs — think Game 5 against Portland, the Game 1 win in L.A. against the Lakers, Game 3 against OKC — it’s pressed it hard. No opponent has been able to breathe easy, because Dallas strikes twice. The run to end Game 2 was Dallas’ first strike of the Finals. Miami has to prepare for the next lunge.

As expected, two lovely teams are fighting their tails off in highly competitive games. What more could you want? Game 3 will tip at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. For full series coverage, check out our Heat vs. Mavericks hub. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Mavericks, visit Mavs Moneyball and SB Nation Dallas.

Read More: Chris Bosh (F – MIA), LeBron James (F – MIA), Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks, Jun 5, 2011 8:00 PM EDT

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Only seven different teams have won the
NBA Championship since 1984. One of them, the Miami Heat, took home the trophy
in 2006 with a four-games-to-two win over the Dallas Mavericks. Five years
later, the two teams are back at it with mostly new casts of characters. For
Miami, only 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are still with
the club, while Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are the two players who remain
in Dallas.

The Mavericks were favored in that series at minus 151 so the smart folks who
wagered $100 to win $151 on the Heat blazed their way to the windows. On the
other hand, Dallas did cover four of the six games so the people who sided
with the Mavs on a game-by-game basis still came out ahead.

Coming into that 2005-06 NBA Finals, Dallas had won 10 of the previous 12
meetings when the two teams faced off against one another. The Mavs also took
the first two games in the ’06 championship series. Unfortunately, they
couldn’t maintain the momentum as Miami took care of business in quick fashion
winning the next four.

Heading into this series, almost the same exact scenario is in play as Dallas
has won the last 10 meetings, including both contests this season. The first
game was an 11-point home victory, a game LeBron James shot 5-of-19 to go
along with five turnovers. The second matchup was a two-point win at Miami as
James, once again, failed to convert from the floor going 6-for-17 with five
more miscues.

Despite that, Miami comes into the series is the heavy favorite at -175,
mostly due to the fact that LeBron James has gotten his act together and has
led the Heat with one exceptional performance after another. His almost
flawless play began in the closing game against Boston where he carried his
squad into the Eastern Conference Finals scoring the game’s final 10 points in
the 97-87 victory.

In the four straight wins over Chicago, James averaged 28.5 points-per-game,
and along with Wade, the two superstars blew past the Bulls in game five with
a combined 16 points during a ferocious late-game comeback. Still, despite
losing only one game straight up and against the spread in its last seven, the
Heat has not destroyed its opponents as one would have expected. Two of the
wins needed overtime and two more were late fourth quarter comebacks.

Miami has two of the top three players in the series with Dallas so the right
team is favored. Nevertheless, don’t discount the underdogs as the West has
won nine of the last 12 NBA Finals.

CAN DALLAS TOPPLE THE HEAT?

The Mavericks also needed monster comebacks of their own to take down their
last adversary, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas trailed in game four by 15
points with just over five minutes remaining and won it in overtime, and then
rallied in the fifth game of the Western Conference Finals pulling it out in
the final 4:30 minutes. Furthermore, more than half of their conference
playoff games were either decided by six points or less, or in overtime. They
are getting some respect as Miami is just a 4.5-point favorite in game one.
The last time the two teams played in Miami, the Heat was favored by seven. In
addition, Caron Butler, who played in both Dallas wins, is out of the lineup.
Given that, why is the line so low, especially since Miami is playing much
better ball in late May compared to late December?

A lot of it has to do with Dirk Nowitzki. Take away game three versus Oklahoma
City and the 32-year-old has averaged 30.5 ppg in the postseason on 60-percent
shooting from the floor, including an amazing 69-percent from three-point
territory.

As for the team, the Mavericks have not only won 16 of their last 19, they are
16-2-1 ATS. Moreover, the road has not been a problem considering they are
6-0-1 ATS away from home in the playoffs. The Mavs have also fared very well
in Miami during the regular season of late as the last time they failed to
cover came all the way back in the 2002-03 campaign. They also went 2-1 ATS in
the three road playoff games against the Heat in 2006.

Still, in order to win the title, Dallas must shoot at a high percentage – a
task that could be a little too daunting since Miami was second in the NBA in
defensive field goal percentage. (The Heat is also currently second in the
postseason, a shade behind the Indiana Pacers.)

Dallas also will need major offensive contributions from three veterans in
Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and Shawn Marion. More importantly is how the troika
handles the Heat on the defensive side considering their average age is 35-
years-old. When compared to the youth of Miami, it seems as if the Mavs will
literally be run out of town. James, Wade, and Bosh are all under 30 with
their average age at just 27-years-old. The longer the series goes, the more
advantageous it will be for the Heat, even though games three, four, and five
will be played in Dallas.

Given that, don’t expect Dallas to continue its amazing run both SU and ATS as
the Heat will be ready to win its second title in six years. Miami is on a
mission to prove all the naysayers wrong so look for the Heat to come through
with flying colors and win the title in five.

The Sports Network

Read More: nba playoffs schedule, 2011 nba playoffs, 2011 nba playoffs schedule, bulls vs heat, miami vs chicago, 2011 nba eastern conference finals, 2011 nba finals, LeBron James (F – MIA), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder

LeBron James and the Miami Heat face Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls in the first elimination game of their 2011 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals series. The Heat hold a commanding 3-1 lead over the Bulls and with a win Thursday could schedule a rematch with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. The Mavs were able to take care of their business and eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in their Game 5 to win the Western Conference Finals 4-1.

The Heat have a tougher task ahead with their playoff elimination game coming on the road where as the Mavs were able to play Game 5 at home. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, while certainly motivated, don’t seem to have the same burning hunger that drove veterans stars Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd to put away Kevin Durant’s young Thunder team.

The task of staving off elimination got more difficult for the Bulls with news this week that their backup center, Omer Asik, will is out with a broken leg. It’s going to take an absolutely brilliant performance from Derrick Rose to keep the Bulls from going home with just one win. The Heat, like the Mavs, proved that experience and having the better player will make the difference in a close playoff game. It’s been LeBron James coming up huge time and again in late game situations that’s put Miami ahead three games to one.

Game 5 of the Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 PT on TNT. The game will be played at Chicago’s American Airlines Arena. (NBA.com video preview of Game 5). Check here for a full schedule of the 2011 NBA Finals.

MIAMI, FL – MAY 24: (L-R) Kyle Korver #26, Carlos Boozer #5, Derrick Rose #1 and Luol Deng #9 of the Chicago Bulls look on against the Miami Heat in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 24, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. LeBron James. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)