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While all the talk is about the matchups within the game between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals, there is an even bigger picture that few online sports betting sources seem to be talking about.

While the Heat have followed the latest trend of gathering top superstar players and filling in the pieces around them, the Mavericks have gotten to their second finals in five years with one superstar and several solid contributors throughout the lineup. Which is the better formula to build a championship team? This series may very well answer that question and serve as a foundation for teams going forward in the days after the 2011 Belmont Stakes betting race.

When Pat Riley went after Lebron James and Chris Bosh in the offseason to match alongside superstar Dwayne Wade, the effect that it had took the association by storm. Critics were quick to point out that never before has a superstar as big as Lebron made a choice like the infamous decision that he made last summer, although it is a foundation that was laid by some of the top teams in the league from past years.

The two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers emerged with Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum emerging to an extent around Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, the 2010 Eastern conference champion Boston Celtics were built on their own big three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, with Rajon Rondo emerging over the past couple of years to join them at the top. The New York Knicks seem to be following suit with the addition of Carmelo Anthony alongside Amare Stoudamire, with persisting pay per head rumors of their eventual pursuit of Chris Paul next summer.

While that formula of big cities bringing in big superstars and building around them is popular, there is another emerging foundation of one superstar and several key players that can be switched in and out of the starting rotation without much falloff. That is the case with the Mavericks, a team that is undoubtedly built around Dirk Nowitzki but with several solid players such as Jason Terry and JJ Barea that can step in off the bench and put up big numbers.

The Chicago Bulls appear to be taking that route with players like Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer growing around MVP Derrick Rose and several key young players that will step up in the next couple of years, as well as the Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard as the sports betting bonus centerpiece there.

The Heat and Mavericks have taken different directions to the finals, with each team using a different foundation to get to the championship series. Only one will be able to clinch an NBA title for their respective city, and while a case could be made for both to win it all, whichever one emerges victorious should set the tone for teams going forward in future online sports betting years.

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