Miami Heat: Better to Face Brooklyn Nets Sooner Or Later In NBA Playoffs?
By Noah Decker
Miami Heat: It Doesn’t Matter, But Could Look Different Later For Them
If the Brooklyn Nets make the playoffs, it is very likely that they play their early playoff series without Simmons. Without their best defender, they have to rely more on their offense to get the job done.
While it is true that the Nets have one of the top offenses in the league, it is also true that the Heat are one of the few teams to rank top ten in both offensive and defensive ratings. That means that Miami can limit Brooklyn’s offense while scoring effectively on the other side.
The Nets might not be able to contain the Heat without an All-Star level defender of their own. Contrarily, it could be argued that the Nets would be better this season without Simmons.
That doesn’t mean that Simmons would make the team worse. It only means that since he hasn’t played all year and is currently nursing an injury, he would need to take some time to get back into the pace of the game.
On top of that, he needs to learn how to play with a whole new roster of teammates. That type of change in the middle of the playoffs is difficult to manage, even for a team stacked with All-Star talent.
We see this happen all the time when teams riddled with injuries attempt to make a playoff push. Most of the time, they are unsuccessful because they have not played as a cohesive system all year.
It is also worth noting that if the Miami Heat don’t play the Nets in an early round, someone else might knock them off. So, the Heat could avoid playing the Nets altogether.
If they end up playing Brooklyn, at all, this postseason, the Heat still have a very good chance to beat the Nets. Despite what the NBA championship odds may say, the Heat would probably win the series.
But since the Nets are such a talented team, avoiding them would make life a little easier for the Heat. It would be beneficial for the Miami Heat to avoid the Nets at all costs.
However, if they end up playing each other, Miami’s best chance at victory comes early into the postseason. That way, the Nets are not at full strength.
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No matter what happens, the Heat will have some competitive series ahead of them this postseason. Let’s hope they come out on top!