Sixers Heat Playoff Preview

Let’s flash back for a second to July 8, 2010, and if your from Cleveland you know why this date is significant. On Thursday July 8th at around 9:00 PM, LeBron James hosted a special broadcast on ESPN entitled “The Decision.” The show was centered around James’s decision to either stay in Cleveland near his hometown of Akron, go to Chicago or New York for the big markets, or go to Miami and team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to form a super three. When King James announced that he would be taking his talents to South Beach, it almost seemed unfair. Three stars that played on the U.S. Olympic team together would now be on the same NBA squad ready to wreak havoc on the rest of the league.

The Heat had an outstanding 2010-2011 season going 58-24. They are the number 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and their first obstacle in their quest toward an NBA championship will be to take down a young and energized team with a bright future: the Sixers. I know what you’re thinking; the Heat are going to sweep and the Sixers are going to walk away happy to even make the playoffs. But the Sixers have given the Heat some decent games this season and I think they have a legitimate shot of advancing to the next round.

Season Series

October 27, 2010: (Heat 97 Sixers 87)
In the Sixers first game of the 2010-2011 season they could not contain the big three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Bosh, James and Wade accounted for 61 of the Heat’s 97 points. James Jones of the Heat also helped out with 20 points going 6-9 from 3 point land. The Sixers made a late run in the 4th quarter but were unable to close the gap. Individually the Sixers got a great performance out of Evan Turner who had 16 points in his first NBA game. Overall it was a pretty good effort from the Sixers in the first game of the season against a high quality opponent.
November 26, 2010: (Heat 99 Sixers 90)
This game was the turning point of the Sixers season. Coming into this game the Sixers were a dismal 3-12 and were struggling greatly. But the Sixers put their bad start aside and came out in this game and gave the Heat a great game. Jodie Meeks and Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 21 and 20 points respectively. The Sixers hung in there and actually led by 2 points going into the 4th quarter. Unfortunately the Sixers could not keep up with the Heat in the final quarter and eventually lost 99-90. This game lit a spark for the Sixers who have since gone 38-28.
March 25, 2011: (Heat 111 Sixers 99)
In this most recent matchup between the two teams, the Sixers once again lost a tough one. Bosh had 20, LeBron had 32, and Wade led all scorers with 39 points. Wade was a dazzling 15-26 from the field and seemed to score at will. The only bright spot from the game for the Sixers was Lou Williams who had 24 points. Overall the Sixers played a good game but Dwayne Wade was just that much better. With the victory the Heat swept the season series against the Sixers 3-0.

Miami advances if:

• They get contributions from their bench. If guys like Eddie House and James Jones can step up the Heat will be in good shape.
  

• LeBron can put past playoff failures out of his head. LeBron has had a record of past playoff failures and he needs to forget about his days in Cleveland if he wants to have any success this year.

• The Heat can spread the wealth. If anyone of guy tries to step up and be the hero the Heat are in big trouble. If Bosh, D Wade and LeBron can spread the scoring with a balanced offensive attack they will be extremely tough to beat

Philadelphia advances if:

• Lou Will comes back healthy. Williams is the Sixers leading scorer and provides that spark off the bench. Plus Williams is a guy who can drive to the basket and draw a foul if the Sixers are in desperate need of some points.
  

• Jodie Meeks can get hot and stay hot. There was a stretch during March where Meeks was shooting a very high 3 point field goal percentage. Doug Collins needs to find ways to get Jodie some good looks early in the series.
  

• They get Elton Brand involved offensively. The Sixers need to run more pick and rolls with Elton Brand so that he can get open and hit his patented mid-range jumper.
  

• They find ways to slow the big three. You can't stop LeBron, D-Wade or Bosh but if you can make it difficult for them to score by pressing and double teaming, the Sixers could win this series. The Sixers need to get their top defenders of Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner extended minutes against the Heat.

Beating the Heat in a playoff series is going to be a monumental task for this young team. But if the Sixers get strong contributions from their bench and do a decent job of slowing Miami's high powered offense the Sixers can win. The action begins Saturday so make sure to check up on the blog for all your Sixers Heat news and analysis in the upcoming week.