Miami Heat: Derrick Rose and 10 Players Standing Between Them and a Finals Berth
The No. 2 seed isn't too unfamiliar of territory for the Miami Heat. The last time they held this was in 2006 when Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal led the team to their first title. Much like now with the Boston Celtics, their triumph over the Detroit Pistons was what allowed the team to make their first and only NBA Finals in franchise history. They also took on a young Chicago Bulls team and the Big Three of New Jersey en route to their eventual meeting with the Dallas Mavericks.
In only five years, a lot has changed in the Eastern Conference standings.
The level of competition has risen, as well as the league's probable MVP and best record in the league in the East. Both of those accolades belong to the Chicago Bulls and they might not even be the most difficult team that the Heat would have to face to reach the championship. Miami will also have to take on a Boston Celtics team that they just beat for the first time in eight games and a Philadelphia 76ers team that has been one of the hottest since the All-Star break.
If they weren't enough to worry about, the other teams to make the playoffs in Atlanta, New York and Indiana are capable of making noise too. The Heat could face one of the toughest roads in the playoffs with just Philly, Boston and Chicago as projected, but they would still have competition if either of those teams could pull off an upset. Each team possesses a player or two that could give them an advantage over the Heat if they were to meet up this month.
Miami has been consistently humbled by a few players this season and that has led to criticism of the Heat and their inability to make adjustments. With the postseason beginning soon, the Heat will need to start playing at another level to limit some of these players that have tormented them one too many times this year. Miami will have to limit these 10 factors if they want to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Philadelphia 76ers Bench
1 of 10
With all the talk of a possible matchup with the Boston Celtics in the second round and a date with the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals, it seems that no one is noticing that the Miami Heat have some stiff competition to start off the postseason with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat were able to avoid the upset-minded and streaking New York Knicks by grabbing the 2-seed and even though the Sixers have been reeling as of late, they could still prove to be a tough challenge for the Heat due to one overwhelming advantage.
Coming in at No. 1 in the league in scoring, the 76ers bench could give the Heat's starting lineup a run for their money. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Lou Williams is averaging a solid 14 points per game in only 23 minutes worth of game time, Thaddeus Young provides the team with some toughness in the low post and rookie Evan Turner is completely capable of scoring at will while also using his length as a defensive presence.
The Sixers can also look towards Andres Nocioni or Mareese Speights off the bench as well for some support. With the likes of Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand in the starting lineup, Philadelphia is a very deep team that has numerous players that could easily start. This team can easily give the Heat some matchup problems when each team breaks out their second unit. If you didn't know already, the Heat's bench is just about dead last in offensive efficiency.
Ray Allen
2 of 10
The Miami Heat had a few realizations from their recent win against the Boston Celtics. They finally proved to themselves and the NBA world that not only can they beat the Celtics, but they can also make it look easy. Most importantly though, they won the game with defense that they had yet to unleash in the teams' first three meetings. Some of the most impressive defense came from Dwyane Wade, who was finally able to keep Ray Allen in check for the first time this season.
Allen hit a combined 14 three-pointers in the first three games before heading to Miami for the final meeting. Dwyane has proven in the past that he is a more than capable defender, but he became a liability on the defensive end in games against Boston. Rather than sticking on Allen and forcing him into passes or difficult shots, Wade played off of Allen and allowed him to catch and shoot. Ray's quick release allows him to take advantage of defenders who don't stick to him like glue.
So what changed in this final meeting? Dwyane was actually sticking to Allen and forcing him to pass the ball rather than giving him ample enough time to ready himself for a shot. With the constant harassment, Allen never found an offensive rhythm and couldn't make his usual miraculous shots to work his team back in the game. Ray finished with 13 points and hit 2-of-5 from deep thanks to Dwyane and his tough defense.
Amar'e Stoudemire
3 of 10
By taking the No. 2 seed, the Miami Heat were able to avoid the streaking New York Knicks in the first round. It might not be the case for the second round if the Knicks can somehow pull off an upset for the ages against the Boston Celtics and then get their matchup with the Heat. New York had run off seven consecutive wins before a close loss to the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks had become one of the most dangerous teams in the league only two weeks after it appeared the Carmelo Anthony deal had blown up in their face.
While Anthony has helped the team since his arrival, it has been Amar'e Stoudemire who has been the reason for the Knicks' turnaround this year. He is having one of the best years of his career averaging 25 points and eight rebounds per game and could prove to be a matchup problem for the Heat. While it's an advantage for the Heat that the Knicks have no presence in the middle aside from Stoudemire, they still have a problem with Bosh defending Stoudemire.
What the Heat have been doing in their four matchups is using Joel Anthony to defend Amar'e. Using Anthony has worked and has kept Stoudemire at bay and away from the basket, but it leaves the Heat at an offensive disadvantage when they have to play him for upwards of 30 minutes just for his defense. Lately, Anthony has appeared to improve with being able to catch the ball and finish and could actually be more useful than just for his defense.
The Heat are going to need more than good defense from Anthony on Stoudemire if they expect him to take up a spot on the floor for more than half of the game.
Jamal Crawford
4 of 10
This selection might be a little out of left field for some, but when you've been tortured by one individual for so long, they deserve a spot on this list. Jamal Crawford has been one of the Miami Heat's most feared players since his days with the New York Knicks when he scored a career high 52 points in one instance. Even when he wasn't dropping upwards of 50 points, Crawford has always found the tendency to get hot and use his three-point shooting to kill the Heat.
Even with Atlanta, Crawford has found himself in zones where he can't seem to miss. The problem with defending Jamal is that even when you're able to play the best possible defense, there isn't much that can stop him after he hits a few consecutive shots. Miami has thrown just about every possible option on Crawford over the years and they still haven't found a consistent way to limit Jamal. For the Heat to limit him, they'll need to stop him before he begins hitting shots.
Luckily for the Heat though, the chances of taking on Jamal are very slim considering that the Atlanta Hawks would have to beat the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls just for the two teams to meet in a potential conference finals matchup.
Roy Hibbert
5 of 10
An extremely unlikely opponent for the Miami Heat, but a possible matchup problem for the Heat nonetheless. As the eighth seed, the Indiana Pacers have the misfortune of taking on the No. 1-seeded Chicago Bulls to begin their postseason journey. For them to even take on the Heat, they'll have to beat the No. 1-seeded Bulls and then either the No. 4 Orlando Magic or the No. 5 Atlanta Hawks. Indiana has performed admirably this season and has exceeded expectations.
One player that the Heat would not like to see if this improbable matchup does occur would be the Pacers 7'2" center Roy Hibbert. He struggled in the first game due to foul trouble, but took advantage when he was given significant minutes in the final two meetings. Hibbert dropped 20 points and 10 rebounds in the second meeting and 18 points and seven rebounds in the third and allowed the Pacers to have closely contested games with the Heat.
Roy is a rare breed of center who can do just about everything from posting up to hitting the short jumper. He's a terrific rebounder and can utilize his length to his advantage on the offensive and defensive end. It makes it even worse for the Heat that they don't have an answer and it showed in the two meetings where Roy was actually able to play. The easy way for Miami to stop him though would be to utilize LeBron James and Dwyane Wade's strength of driving by drawing calls on the usual foul-prone center.
Kevin Garnett
6 of 10
You can call him over-the-hill from a physical standpoint, but Kevin Garnett is still strong as ever mentally. In fact, the mental part of his game has become one of his strongest suits. With his age and health playing a factor in the former MVP's games, Garnett has used his strong ability to work himself in the heads of opposing players to throw them off their game. He has been perfecting his craft for over 15 years now with Chris Bosh set to become his latest victim if the two teams do meet up.
Aside from being a notorious trash talker, Garnett still has the game to back it up. He's extremely clutch and has been hitting big shots against the Heat in their three close meetings. Even when the Heat play as good as defense as possible on him, Kevin's fadeaway mid-range shot always appears to be unstoppable when the game is on the line. Aside from a slow start in the first meeting, Garnett has played well against Miami with his best performance coming last Sunday when he finished with 21 points.
Even at 34, Kevin Garnett is still probably the team's most important player. He is the emotional and defensive leader of the team since he arrived in Boston and has made the biggest impact over the physicality and mental toughness of his most recent team. Of their Big Three, the team always seems to appear to struggle most when Garnett isn't on the floor. For Boston, they're going to need all the Garnett they can get if they want to make it to their third NBA Finals in four years.
Dwight Howard
7 of 10
The Orlando Magic hold the obvious advantage at center against the Miami Heat and every team in the league for that matter. Against the Heat however, Dwight Howard can really show why he deserves MVP consideration and just how important it is to have a quality defensive center. Howard's size and strength remain his most important assets, but the fact that he is developing an offensive game and is set to win the Defensive Player of the Year award again is proof enough that the Heat can and will face problems in a seven game series if they face Dwight and the Magic in the Conference Finals.
Somehow, Howard hasn't gone off on the Heat this season in the two teams' four meetings. He has rebounded at an impressive clip, but has scored over 20 points only once. One of the key reasons being that the Heat have two slashers that know how to put opposing centers in foul trouble. Miami had him in foul trouble in two of the games and the Heat took advantage both times of the Howard-less Magic by being able to attack the rim with little resistance.
With Dwight on the floor, the Magic can easily be considered one of the most dangerous teams in this year's postseason. Unlike the past few years, Dwight actually has more of an offensive skill set than just being able to power himself into the lane and throw down dunks, he actually has a 15-foot bank shot and a running hook that has become automatic. Miami is going to need every center it can throw at Howard if they want to keep him at bay for seven games.
Joakim Noah
8 of 10
Joakim Noah certainly isn't the player you'd expect to change the outcome of a game with his offense. He can be kept in check by teams with length and size in their frontcourt such as the Orlando Magic. The problem for the Miami Heat is that they don't have that length and size in their frontcourt that is required to limit Noah and the huge frontcourt of the Chicago Bulls. Already having to fight off Carlos Boozer, Miami will also have their hands full with Joakim Noah for rebounds and points in the paint.
Noah was out of commission for nearly two months in the middle of the season and it came during one of the Heat's meetings with Chicago. Even in the two other meetings that the Heat had with the Bulls when Noah did play, his statistical impact was low as he topped off at 11 points and eight rebounds. However, even with the low stats, Noah can make his presence felt in the middle just as well as any other center in the league aside from Dwight Howard.
Considering that the Heat have a core built on slashing and driving to the lane, Noah will become the team's one road block in the middle. Joakim has plenty of length and size to contest just about any shot Wade or James can put up when driving the lane. Not only will his defense be enough to worry about, but the Heat have no player who can out-rebound Noah. They'll need to either force him into foul trouble or keep him out of the paint as much as possible if Miami wants to thrive in the painted area.
Rajon Rondo
9 of 10
Have the Heat finally figured out one of their biggest pet peeves? How else can we explain why Rajon Rondo only scored seven points and dished out five assists in the two teams' past meeting last Sunday? After all, Rondo had lit up the Heat with his 43 assists in the first three meetings and was a key part of the problem for when Miami did take on the Boston Celtics. His speed and constant penetration in the lane tortured the Heat all season long and was the definition of just how well the Heat played against elite point guards.
So what happened this past meeting? The Heat point guards played off of Rondo. Instead of playing up on him and allowing him to use his speed to blow by, Miami dared Rajon to take 20-footers. Because he wasn't able to penetrate, Rondo wasn't able to dictate the offense and find easy scores near the basket and was forced most of the time into jump shots that he clearly did not want to take. It was a veteran move by Mike Bibby to play off of Rondo and it paid off.
With a second-round matchup on the horizon, Miami will need to keep in mind what it did in this past meeting with the Celtics to contain Rondo. When he is allowed to dictate the offense by being able to work himself in the paint, the team is nearly unstoppable thanks to their chemistry and ability to find each other for easy scores. If Miami can continue to keep Rondo out of the lane, then it'll make playing defense a lot easier when they don't have to worry about Rajon working his magic in the paint.
Derrick Rose
10 of 10
Not just against the Miami Heat, but Derrick Rose will be the player set to deter any Eastern Conference team on their journey to an NBA Finals. He's set to be the league MVP after averaging 24 points and eight assists and leading his team to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 61-20. His speed and agility are unmatched by any other player in the league and he even has a reliable jump shot that can be called upon when teams begin to pack the paint to corral him.
Against the Heat, Rose has been able to do whatever he has wanted. Miami has lost all three meetings this season against the Chicago Bulls solely because they can't find any way to limit Rose and his playmaking abilities. There isn't a point guard on the team that can keep up with him and there hasn't been one thus far to finding a solution to stopping him. The only capable solution appears to be to have the two best Heat perimeter defenders in LeBron or Dwyane defend him.
It was believed to be Rondo and the Celtics at the beginning of the season, but now it seems that Rose and the Bulls will be the toughest test for the Heat to ace. Beating teams with elite point guards has been one of the most difficult tasks for the Heat this season and only in their past win against Boston has it appeared that they have reached some sort of breakthrough. They're going to need that breakthrough against Derrick Rose if these teams do meet up in the Conference Finals.
