Barea, Aminu become starters; spark Mavs in Game 4 win
If Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle never inserted J.J. Barea into the starting lineup in Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals, there's a good chance LeBron James would have three championship rings instead of two.
Last night, Carlisle went to the same well four years later, removing Barea from the bench and making him Dallas' starting point guard. It paid off handsomely, as did the same move with Al-Farouq Aminu.
Here's what Carlisle had to say about the decision, courtesy of Mavs.com:
"You know, they’ve been two of the most effective players in the series. But we had injuries, too, and that influenced it. Felton started the previous game, and he was banged up. R.J. was banged up, and so that contributed to it as well. We really felt we needed as much rebounding as possible in the game to start, and the difference (Sunday night) was it’s 52-38 on the boards for us. And that’s the game, so we’ve got to keep rebounding.”
Who knows if any of this is sustainable, but we do know it won't catch Houston off guard in Game 5. The time for adjustments is over.
(h/t: Mavs)
Photo Credit: Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
