NBA Playoffs 2012 Bracket: Miami Heat and More Teams on Upset Alert
The Miami Heat is one team that should be on upset alert during the first round of the 2012 NBA playoffs.
There are several exciting matchups set for the first round, and many of the lower seeds have enough talent to make the favorites sweat.
Let's look at three teams on upset alert in the first round.
Miami Heat
The Heat finished second in the Eastern Conference and now have to face the talented New York Knicks in the first round.
The Knicks have a major advantage in the frontcourt, where center Tyson Chandler and power forward Amar'e Stoudemire have favorable matchups against their Heat counterparts.
If Jeremy Lin is able to be healthy throughout the series, the Knicks would also have an advantage at point guard.
The key for the Knicks is to slow down Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Knicks star Carmelo Anthony needs to win his battle against James and defend well against him for New York to win this series.
It won't be an easy task, but Anthony is capable of doing it. If the Knicks can play defense at a high level during this series, they will have a chance to upset the Heat, a team under immense pressure to win the NBA title.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder come into the playoffs as many fans' pick to win the NBA Finals and dominate the Western Conference for years.
This means OKC is under tremendous pressure to roll trough the playoffs which, for a young team, is a difficult thing to go through.
OKC will take on the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals last season, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks are a very experienced team and have a player in Dirk Nowitzki who creates matchup problems for the Thunder.
If the Thunder don't take the Mavericks seriously, this series could be very challenging for them. Dallas can score at a high rate and are very efficient in the half court with veteran guards Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers probably won't lose their first-round series to the Denver Nuggets, but it will be a closer battle than many think.
The Nuggets led the league in points scored per game this season and finished second in assists. They have strong guard play at both positions, and have an edge over the Lakers in the backcourt.
Denver also was the eighth best rebounding team in the league, and have a guard capable of playing good defense on Kobe Bryant in Arron Afflalo.
The Nuggets don't have a player who can take over offensively, but they have enough talent to take the Lakers to seven games.
