The 5 Worst Matchups for the Miami Heat

Contrary to popular belief, the Miami Heat aren't immortal.

Sorry to break the news, but the Heat aren't exactly locks to make it to and ultimately win the NBA Finals. Even with an 8-1 start (I'm writing this before their game against Golden State), LeBron James playing at an MVP pace once again, and Chris Bosh playing akin to his Toronto Raptor days, the Heat are still mortal and can still be broken down.

Of course, it's going to be a lot more difficult. This isn't the Heat from last year. They're not starting out 9-8, not losing five games in a row to elite teams, and they're not dealing with injuries to key players off the bench. Instead, the Heat are now playing with aggressiveness, a better understanding for each other, and a healthy bench.

Not to mention that the Heat haven't gotten to seen Mike Miller yet. However, he should be returning during the current road trip that Miami is currently on.

The Heat will still have to possibly deal with these five players if they want to achieve their goal of winning an NBA title. They only came two games away last year with a relatively average roster and should find themselves going deeper into the Finals with the improvement to the big three and the bench.

Before then, they'll have to deal with these five players and figure out a way to limit or deter them.

Derrick Rose

Don't think that the Miami Heat have Derrick Rose under wraps yet, he's a year older and a year wiser from last year's Conference Finals.

In a series where the Heat won in five games over the Chicago Bulls, Miami was able to come out on top not only because of the struggles of the supporting cast, but also because of how they handled the reigning MVP. Rose was believed to be the key in this series, as the Heat were still lacking on a defensive point guard.

Luckily for the Heat, Carlos Boozer played pathetic compared to his assignment in Chris Bosh, and Luol Deng wasn't seen as much down the stretch as the Bulls would have liked to see, which left it all on Rose's shoulders. Rose was prolific, averaging 23 points per game, but the 35 percent shooting is what really allowed the Heat to take over.

The Heat defended Rose the same way they defended Rajon Rondo: by giving him space and cutting off his drives. Whether it was Mike Bibby or Mario Chalmers defending him, they would give Rose space to take jump shots, but would restrict him once he attempted to drive with a swarming defense from all sides.

The main reason why Rose struggled, however, was because of the Heat's idea to place LeBron James on him in the fourth quarter. Even though he's five inches taller and 50 pounds heavier, James had the footwork, speed, and agility to stay in front of his assignment the entire time he was on him. Coach Erik Spoelstra placed James on Rose in the fourth quarter, and as a result, Rose shot 1-of-15.

Let's not assume that the Heat will just put LeBron James on Rose again and call it a day. Rose is only going to get better as a player and teammate. His athleticism, knowledge of the game, and court awareness will only improve as he begins to experience more and more of the spotlights in the NBA postseason.

Not to mention that he now has Richard Hamilton by his side. Unlike last year when the Bulls were featuring Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans as their shooting guards, opponents will now have to play actual defense at the 2-spot, which means that Rose will receive less attention from his opponents.

Miami will meet up with the Bulls in the Conference Finals. It's destiny. And when they do, the Heat better be careful when it comes to defending Rose. He's smart enough of a player to realize his opponents weaknesses and will attempt to break through his defensive assignment at all costs.

Dwight Howard

As strange as it is, Dwight Howard hasn't seen as much success against the Miami Heat than most people would assume.

Even though Howard has been defended by the likes of Joel Anthony, Jermaine O'Neal, and Erick Dampier over the past three seasons, it's a rare occurrence to see him actually go off for a 20-point, 20-rebound game. As imposing and dominant a figure that he has become, Howard can't seem to figure out the Heat.

Howard has relied heavily on his athleticism and strength for the majority of his career, but can't seem to break through against a Heat team that sports a 6'9" starting center. Dwight's struggles against the Heat come as a direct result of his teammates and the Heat's suffocating team defense, which makes sure to pay attention to Dwight and whatever he plans to do on the offensive end.

The Heat don't allow their center's to go one-on-one with Howard. Players like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James utilize their athleticism to not only force Howard into passing the ball, but into turnovers as well. Their athleticism and physicality with Howard deters him into shooting it, as he finds himself getting harassed the second he touches the ball.

However, it all weighs on if Howard's Orlando Magic teammates can hit a shot. He's not surrounded by the greatest roster in the NBA, but he is surrounded by solid perimeter threats.

Players like J.J. Redick, Jason Richardson, and Ryan Anderson can hurt you from deep, but the Heat will allow them to get their shots off since they're not always consistent, and because they have the athleticism and defensive skills to defend the post and the perimeter.

If the Magic are hitting their three-pointers, they become an elite team once again. Lately, they haven't been hitting their shots as much, and they also haven't been looking towards Howard as much as they should. The Magic need to find a way to blend their offense so that Howard and the perimeter threats get equal amount of opportunities.

Rajon Rondo

No matter who is defending him, it seems that no one on the Miami Heat can greatly limit Rajon Rondo into becoming irrelevant.

You'll say that it's difficult to make an elite player irrelevant, but the Heat also limited Derrick Rose to nine percent shooting in the fourth quarter of the Conference Finals. There's just something about Rondo that makes him extremely agitating to defend against.

For one, he's an excellent facilitator. Give all the credit you want to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo is the glue holding them, and this team, together. Rondo is unbelievably well at doing his job as the Boston Celtics point guard, as he uses a blend of craftiness and fundamentals to lead his offense to an easy two or three points.

When you have three players over the age of 34 as the main producers, you need a point guard in that lineup to help make their jobs easier. You can't allow players like Pierce, Allen and Garnett to constantly create their own shot at their age for 48 minutes, so you have a facilitator like Rondo to come in and do the dirty work for them.

His work on the defensive end is just as stellar. Rondo can play individual and team defense with the best point guard's in the league.

His only downfall would definitely be his jump shot. Outside of 10 feet, Rondo is inept when it comes to producing for himself. He has no problem in facilitating the offense for his team, but if he isn't getting to the rim and is forced to shoot jumpers, he becomes useless as far as scoring goes. That's exactly why you will see defenders always giving him at least three feet worth of space.

In the Heat's 115-107 win over Boston in the second game of the season, Rondo torched the Heat for 22 points, 12 assists, and eight boards. They did force him to commit seven turnovers, but he still became a problem late in the game, even with defenders like Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole guarding him the whole way.

Adding Shane Battier to the mix will allow LeBron James to pay more attention to Rondo on the offensive end, but it still doesn't eliminate the prospect of the point guard facilitating as a passer.

Andrew Bynum

It would be tough to believe that the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers are going to meet up in this year's NBA Finals, but for the sake of argument, we'll say that it is completely possible.

The Heat match up with the Lakers well at every position, which explains the 2-0 record they compiled in their two meetings last year. With Dwyane Wade neutralizing Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh doing the same to Pau Gasol, and LeBron James usually having success against Metta World Peace, it's difficult to believe that a team like the Lakers would be able to withstand a team as athletic as the Heat for seven games.

That's where we might be wrong, because the Lakers do have a solution to defeating the Heat in a seven game series, and it lies within their center in Andrew Bynum.

When the Lakers drafted Bynum as an 18-year-old straight out of school, they knew that work had to be done in order to mold the seven-footer into their modern-day Shaquille O'Neal. They didn't realize it would take this long, however. In six years, Bynum has dealt with injury concerns in all but one year. Aside from playing the full 82 in the 2006-'07 season, he has played in 65 games or less.

When he was on the floor, the Lakers didn't exactly see their star center perform up to their standards. It could be attributed that injuries have always held him from performing better, but that shouldn't mean much when he's in a league where there are so few dominant centers to play against. Even if he wasn't 100 percent, Bynum should be dominating against 90 percent of the league's starting centers.

Many were ready to break out the bust label. That is, until they saw what Bynum has done in his first six games of the 2011-'12 season. He's currently averaging 19 points, 16 boards, and two blocks per, and has also recorded his first ever 20-20 game in a win against the Houston Rockets.

He's only 24 years old. If injuries do not continue to persist, Bynum could be Dwight Howard—and then some. He's extremely aggressive in the paint on both ends of the floor, knows how to throw around his weight, is incredibly lengthy, and has a solid understanding of how to score with his back to the basket.

This isn't Dwight Howard and the Magic, this is Andrew Bynum and the Los Angeles Lakers. Double teaming Bynum is extremely risky when you also have to worry about Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. If these two teams do meet up in the NBA Finals by some divine reason, Bynum is going to be the key to a Lakers victory.

Kendrick Perkins

Forget all about Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, or James Harden being the Miami Heat's biggest problem if they end up facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. If they face a substantial obstacle, it's a player that's currently averaging six points, six boards, and a block per over a career that's lasted nine seasons.

The Oklahoma City Thunder picking up Kendrick Perkins was one of the smartest and most underrated moves of the past few seasons. They lost Jeff Green as their starting power forward, but quickly replaced him with a young, defensive-minded power forward in Serge Ibaka. Adding Perkins also meant that Nenad Krstic was a goner as well.

Not only do the Thunder have prolific scorers in Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, but they also have two excellent defensive stoppers in the front court in Ibaka and Perkins. Ibaka is a solid shot blocker, but he doesn't carry the same impact that Perkins provides. Kendrick doesn't care if he isn't liked. He's not here to make friends and he could care less if you're getting bruised on account of his cross checks.

The Heat can deal with shot blockers, it's players with a lot size that can get frustrating. Big bodies like Perkins in the middle can throw off the slashing and driving games of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The proof lies in the past when Perkins was a member of the Boston Celtics, and would constantly play the role of a brick wall to James and Wade.

It's no surprise that the Heat defeated the Celtics in five games last postseason. It didn't matter how much chemistry they had, since they didn't have a big body in the middle to deter the driving abilities of Wade and James. Even Bosh would have been left defenseless going against a front court with the likes of Kevin Garnett and Perkins.

The Heat no longer have to worry about going through Perkins in order to get to the Finals. Now they only have to worry if they face off against the Thunder in the NBA Finals, which is a very real possibility that many analysts predicted in the preseason.

You can't stop Wade and James, but you can limit them. Perkins is exactly the player a team needs in order to deter them. You need a hard-nosed, no nonsense center like Kendrick in the middle who isn't afraid to get physical or dish out a hard foul or two or three.

The Thunder have the pieces to keep up with the Heat, they're the only team in the NBA, aside from Chicago, who can boast that. The only question is if they have the stamina and drive to outgun them in a seven-game series.