Scouting the Enemy: Miami Heat
By Eric He
As the Warriors get set to play the Miami Heat in a matter of hours, it’s time to preview the game by scouting the enemy. Our thanks to Wes Goldberg at All U Can Heat, who was kind enough to answer five questions about the Heat and the upcoming game:
1) This has probably been discussed ad nauseam, but how are the Heat coping thus far without LeBron James?
The LeBracolypse? Yeah, it’s going. There are two ways to ask this question. (1) How are the Heat coping from a locker room standpoint and (2) how they are handling it Xs and Os-wise. Luckily, I’m just the guy to answer both of these questions. 1. It seems like they are embracing not being in the limelight. This season has been a breath of fresh air, and Dwyane Wade is enjoying be the alpha dog and Bosh is enjoying his new-found importance to the operation. Oh, and no one is yelling at Mario Chalmers anymore. 2. Wade has taken LeBron’s role as the facilitator from the post while Bosh is less a decoy stretching the defense and more a threat to attack inside and out. Luol Deng has taken Wade’s role as the cutter and gives a more consistent effort on defense than LeBron, though is far less spectacular.
2) How are the Heat’s offseason additions — Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts, Danny Granger ,etc. — adapting to the team?
As I just mentioned, Deng is fitting right in and has a very defined role on the team. McRoberts has been recovering from an off-season toe surgery and just recently dealt with lingering effects in the form of a nasty blister that sidelined him. He played 17 minutes against the HornetsSunday, so he should be ready to get to speed. Though he probably won’t get his first start of the season Tuesday. Granger’s on a bit of a maintenance program and hasn’t had a major impact this season. But he’s getting worked into the rotation and it’s only a matter of time before he flashes. The most impactful offseason addition has been Shawne Williams–who has found quite the role as our stretch-4 and has the green light to shoot. He’s particularly effective from the corner, and Miami gets him open looks.
3) What are your expectations for the Heat this season?
45-50 wins and a playoff spot. Once this team is in the playoffs, anything can happen in the East. But it’s going to be an up-and-down season with lots to be excited about and plenty of frustrations.
4) Keys for the Heat to win this game?
If Andrew Bogut doesn’t play, that’s the only chance Miami has. Luckily for us, he’s questionable for the game. It would help if Wade was playing, but he’s missed six-straight games now with a hamstring strain. If Bosh gets hot early and stretches the defense so that Chalmers and Deng can attack the basket, the Heat have a chance. Bosh is the only matchup the Heat have the advantage with, so they will need to exploit that.
5) Final score prediction and why?
Golden State 103, Miami 94
It will be a decent game throughout, but the Warriors will pull away late thanks to the shooting of the Splash Brothers. Expect a big game from Klay Thompson is Wade can’t go. The Warriors are just a deeper team. Iggy and Green can defend Deng, Marreese Speights could do well against Miami’s backup bigs and Shaun Livingston played the Heat well last season when he was in Brooklyn. If Bogut ends up playing, it’ll be ugly.