Miami Heat (2) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (7)
Heat Starters: Who hasn't heard, and hated, Miami's Big Three? When Lebron James callously and Chris Bosh whiningly joined Dwayne Wade in Miami, the Heat immediately replaced the Lakers as the team-to-hate. That being said, James, Wade and bosh are still one of the most potent and terrifying basketball threesomes around. Mike Bibby is serviceable as a PG while Zydrunas Ilgauskas will try to contribute whatever he can to the Heat cause.
Sixers Starters: Their best player just injured his knee. Their next best player is no longer as athletic as he was due to injury. Their third best player is 20 years old and still learning the ropes. That being said, who isn't rooting for Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday to somehow fashion out a miracle in Miami? Shooter Jodie Meeks blows hot and cold most of the time and Spencer Hawes is just as likely to foul out in 15mins as he is to score 15 points in those 15mins.
Advantage: Duh. Heat.
Heat Bench: What Heat bench? Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller have been disappointments, James Jones and Eddie House are uni-dimensional, Udonis Haslem is injured and Joel Anthony couldn't score a bucket in an empty gym.
Sixers Bench: The Sixers, on the other hand, have a bench that can compete with their starters. It all starts with the high scoring Lou Williams and Thad Young, the rebounding skills of Evan Turner, the three point shooting of Andres Nocioni and the veteran play of Tony Battie.
Advantage: Sixers.
Heat Coach: Eric Spoelstra is young, passionate and vocal. He's also faced with a lot of pressure and I'm not sure he knows what's about to hit him next.
Sixers Coach: Doug Collins is old, passionate and experienced. He's maximized the talent on his Sixers team but will he be able to devise ways to offset the huge talent gap between the Heat and the Sixers?
Advantage: Sixers.
X-Factor: Wade vs Meeks/Turner/Holiday, James vs Iguodala. For the Sixers to have any chance of winning, they must take one of these two out of their games. If not, it will a short series.
Advantage: Heat.
My prediction: Heat in 5. Sixers win Game 3 but that's it.
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