"The matchup has a familiar feel. So does the advance hype.

When the Miami Heat open their season Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks, it not only will be a repeat of the 2011 NBA Finals, but it will be accompanied by the no-respect card the Mavericks played in advance of winning last season's championship.

This time it's the Mavericks claiming despite taking that series in six games that the offseason focus immediately returned to the Heat's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Former Heat forward Shawn Marion has been particularly effusive on the subject, telling ESPN, "We've gotten to the point where everybody started overlooking us and talking about everybody else.""