Miami Heat Playoffs Schedule 2012: Odds and Predictions for First-Round Series

The Miami Heat had their ups and their downs in the 2011-2012 lockout-shorted season, but finishing with a 46-20 record and as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference ain't so bad.

As long as they have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, what the Heat do in the regular season is next to irrelevant. It's all about the not five, not six, not seven championships LeBron promised to world back in the summer of 2010.

The Heat came up short in their quest to win a championship last season. That experience will come in handy, however, and the Heat will look to use it to get off to a good start against the seventh-seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the postseason.

Here's a look ahead to Miami's first-round series against the Knicks.

Superstars Who Must Shine

The Heat are practically synonymous with the word "superstar," so you shouldn't be surprised by any of the names I'm about to rattle off.

Chris Bosh

We'll start with the lesser of Miami's Big Three, Chris Bosh.

For the most part, Bosh gets a bad rap. He has a reputation for being soft, and he wasn't as good in his second year with the Heat as he was in his first. Nevertheless, Bosh is pretty good most nights, and he was pretty good for the most part in last year's postseason. Too much was made of some off nights.

Regardless of what people think of Bosh, everyone should agree that he'll need to be at his best for the Heat to succeed.

Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade didn't play a whole lot in the final couple weeks of the regular season, but generally speaking it was yet another solid season for the nine-year veteran out of Marquette. He finished with an average of 22.1 points per game in 49 games.

Wade is no stranger to the playoffs, and he's particularly valuable to the Heat because of his championship experience. As long as he stays healthy, he's going to be a difference-maker out on the court for the Heat, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

LeBron James

The postseason is here. That means it's time for King James to show us what he's got.

James was the best player in the NBA during the regular season, averaging 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. He's going to be a good player in the postseason too. What we don't know is if he's going to be an excellent player.

The Heat aren't winning the Finals if LeBron is anything less than excellent.

Role Player Who Must Emerge

Shane Battier

This is a bit of a tough call. Outside of the Big Three, the Heat are all role players. All of them will need to step up.

I'm singling out Shane Battier for a couple reasons.

One, Battier is one of Miami's key veterans, and this postseason is his chance to get a ring that has eluded him in his career. Now is the time for him to make an impact.

Two, Battier is the key to LeBron James getting some rest. LeBron had to play a lot of minutes last postseason, and he was totally gassed by the time the Finals rolled around. If Battier plays well, he can assume some of LeBron's minutes.

If Battier doesn't play well, the Heat won't look so deep, and LeBron will have to play more minutes.

Strategies to Watch

Offensive Strategy

The Heat have more collective athleticism than just about every team in the league, and they'll look to take advantage of that in transition. The Heat are at their best when their pushing the ball up the floor with a fast tempo and getting to the bucket at the other end. They're dangerous in the halfcourt, but not nearly as dangerous as they are when LeBron and D-Wade are running wild.

Defense Strategy

The Heat are one of the top defensive teams in the league, as they held opponents just under 100 points per game this season. They're better than most at creating turnovers, and they'll look to force a lot of them to feed their transition offense.

First-Round Odds and Prediction

Heat in Five Games

No matter which way you prefer to look at it, the Heat are a better team than the Knicks.

The Heat are going to have to live with Carmelo Anthony scoring a ton of points. He finished the season on a tremendous hot streak, and he'll be priority No. 1 for the Heat in this series. His individual matchup against LeBron is going to be a ton of fun to watch.

I just don't think the Knicks have enough firepower beyond Anthony to overcome the Heat. They have some good players and their depth is solid, but they just don't have the pieces to pose an legit threat to the Heat.

The Knicks will win one game, but no more than that.

Heat Odds: 79 percent chance of series victory

Full First-Round Schedule

Courtesy of NBA.com.

Game 1: Sat April 28, New York at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Game 2: Mon April 30, New York at Miami, 7 p.m., TNT

Game 3: Thu May 3, Miami at New York, 7 p.m., TNT

Game 4: Sun May 6, Miami at New York, 3:30 p.m., ABC

*Game 5: Wed May 9, New York at Miami, TBD

*Game 6: Fri May 11, Miami at New York, TBD

*Game 7: Sun May 13, New York at Miami, TBD

*If necessary