Philadelphia 76ers Would Pose Playoff Threat to Powerful Miami Heat

Tonight, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat will play in what could be a preview of a future playoff series. That hypothetical series would not be an easy one for LeBron James and company.

Right now, Miami is at No. 2 in the East while Philadelphia sits at No. 4. That means that the only ways these two would see each other now is if they both made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

While that is a possibility, it is even more likely that one or the other moves up or down and the two of them play in the second round. Despite the reputation of the Heat, the 76ers would not be an easy out for them.

In fact, Philly is very capable of giving Miami all it wants and beating it in a series if it plays well because Philly is better at rebounding, sharing the ball and defense.  

The key though is playing well, which is not something the 76ers have done against Miami, losing by 21 and 20 points in their two matchups so far this season.

Better Rebounding

The 76ers are a rebounding team than the Heat. And no, that is not just something I base upon what I see on the court. Miami averages a full rebound less than Philly. While that may not seem like much, it can be a huge difference in a single game.

Another problem with the Heat is that half of those rebounds are gotten each game by three guys in LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem. Each of them averages over five rebounds per game, which is pretty impressive.

On the other hand, Philly is even better. They have six guys who average more than five rebounds per game in Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young and Nikola Vucevic.

Having more guys do certain things well helps the balance of the team. Philly has multiple post players who can rebound, plus multiple perimeter players who can rebound. That makes it difficult to key on any one guy as far as blocking out goes because just about everyone on the floor rebounds.

That is a clear advantage over Miami, who has two posts and one perimeter guy that can really rebound at a higher level. Rebounding is big in the playoffs.

Better Sharing

The 76ers also beat out the Heat in the statistical category of assists. They are a team that shares the ball more than most NBA teams, averaging 21.9 assists per game compared to the Heat’s 20.9.

Once again, that isn’t a huge difference. However, it could become one if the game is on the line and that one extra assist is made on a clutch shot that wins a game.

The fact that the 76ers are better-rounded holds up in this category as well. They have six guys who average more than one assist per game, topping off at small forward Iguodala who dishing out 5.7 per game.

Miami has six guys averaging more than one assist per game, but a much larger majority of their assists are tied up in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who account for over half of the assist total.

An interesting similarity to note is that each of these teams is led in assists by their playmaking small forwards. James and Iguodala are very similar players in their style of play and how they do a bit of everything for their squads.

The 76ers share the ball and that philosophy is held to by everyone on the team. The Heat do the same, but for them, it is more about James or Wade directing the team, as opposed to pure ball movement. The edge goes to Philly.

Better Defense

Philadelphia is the best defensive team in the NBA, hands down. They lead the NBA in opponent field goal percentage, and are third in three-point percentage and opponents’ points per shot. Last but not least, they give up the fewest points in the NBA per game at 87.9.

This team is big-time defensively, and that’s what you have to be in the playoffs. Miami is big-time as well, but it can’t really compare to Philly in any of those aforementioned categories.

Philadelphia plays solid team defense, and a lot of the credit has to go to their coach Doug Collins, who has tons of NBA coaching experience going back to when he coached a man named Michael Jordan.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a threat to the Miami Heat in the playoffs. Am I saying that they would definitely beat them? No way.

However, based on their edges in rebounding, defense and sharing the ball, anyone would have to admit they have a solid chance.