Everyone loves a good heavyweight fight. Two big sluggers. Going at it in the center of the ring. Each one is capable of a devastating punch that can end the fight. The Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers represent what should be a marquee NBA matchup. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra versus 76ers coach Doc Rivers. Jimmy Butler versus James Harden. Bam Adebayo versus Joel Embiid. Tyler Herro versus Tyrese Maxey. But for many reasons, this matchup seems more like a foregone conclusion. The Miami Heat’s playoff history makes them one of the last great heavyweights of an era dominated by themselves, the Golden State Warriors, and future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James.
Tale of the Tape: The Teams and Coaches
The Heat split the regular-season series versus the Sixers at two games apiece. Game 1 of this playoff series represented the Heat’s first look at the Sixers with James Harden (The Heat dominated Game 1 106-92). The last time the Heat faced James Harden was back in October while he was with the Brooklyn Nets. They annihilated the Nets with Kevin Durant playing and Kyrie Irving on vaccine hiatus.
Spoelstra versus Rivers has been a historic battle over the last twelve years. Spoelstra has coached the Heat for his entire head-coaching tenure, while Rivers has coached Philly and the Boston Celtics during their Eastern conference rivalry. This is their fourth playoff series coaching against each other. Spoelstra is up 2-1 in series victories, with both wins coming with LeBron James in tow. Spoelstra has two titles in five Finals appearances, while Rivers has one title in three appearances.
In This Corner: The Miami Heat
In this corner, you have the Miami Heat.
Kyle Lowry is from Philadelphia and would love to impress against his hometown team, but he has been battling a hamstring injury. He has missed a ton of games in his first year with the Heat. He has been ruled out for Game 2. Jimmy Butler was traded from Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal three years ago, which produced an NBA Finals appearance for the Heat in 2020. Butler is playing through a swollen knee. P.J. Tucker was a pivotal piece in winning the NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks last year and came to Miami as a free agent. He was teammates with James Harden for three playoff runs with the Houston Rockets.
Bam Adebayo is a 2017 Miami Heat draft pick who has grown into a perennial defensive player of the year candidate. Tyler Herro, who went to the same school as Bam (University of Kentucky), averages nearly 21 points off the bench. Herro won the Sixth Man of the Year award on Tuesday. The rest of the group includes savvy shooters, athletes, and veterans. A witch’s brew of NBA talent mixed into a concoction of championship dreams.
In This Corner: The Philadelphia 76ers
In this corner, you have the Philadelphia 76ers.
This season, Joel Embiid is a front runner for the Most Valuable Player award. He has dominated the matchup against Bam Adebayo and the Heat all season. I watched the games, and the Heat did not have an answer for him (24 points and 14 rebounds per game). Embiid was part of the 2018 team that knocked Miami out of the playoffs. James Harden was traded to be a second superstar next to Embiid. He started hot with the team (22 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists in the first few games) and has championship aspirations. Those aspirations had him rumored to want a trade to the Heat when Harden was a Rocket.
Tyrese Maxey is a lightning-quick third-year guard out of the University of Kentucky (how about them Wildcats?). This year, Maxey has been a huge bright spot for the team, averaging 17.5 points per game and picking up the production in the playoffs. He scored 28 points and beat the Heat without Harden and Embiid back in March. I think his floater is one of the best in the game already. Tobias Harris is their do-it-all power forward in the prime of his career. The rest of the roster is buoyed by playoff veterans and defensive stalwarts.
The Problem
The 76ers came into this heavyweight battle with an injury. THE injury, in my opinion. The best player in this series, Joel Embiid, injured his orbital bone and received a concussion in the closing minutes of eliminating the Toronto Raptors in the first round. He was ruled out of games 1 and 2 of the Heat series.
The other superstar, James Harden, is expected to carry the load. A burden Harden must bear as he was the one who demanded a trade. His high salary resulted in the Sixers trading lots of their depth to add him.
Prediction
The Sixers cannot realistically expect to compete in this series without a healthy Joel Embiid. James Harden had four points in the second half of Game 1. Almost like he was playing with one foot out of the door. No matter how you slice it, that is just unacceptable. The 76ers made six total three-pointers in the game with very little inside game to support them. Embiid’s replacement, Deandre Jordan, was a minus-22 on the floor for the first game. The Miami Heat are one of the last great heavyweights. The system and culture, much like the Golden State Warriors, have been built over many years. They are not a team that lets you hang around for extra games and risk injury or other things happening. I suspect they win in four or five games and enjoy watching the rival Bucks and Celtics battle each other.
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3 Comments
Very well written article! It seems as if the Heat will win this series 4-1 as well to head to the conference finals.
Great article Mr Joseph….Let’s go Heat?????
Best article ever written. Keep it up