Miami Heat Roundtable: Preferred Round 1 NBA Playoff Opponent – Will’s Take
The NBA Playoffs are starting to ramp up and while most teams are sketching out game plans for their opponent, the first seeded Miami Heat are still waiting to find out who they’re going to play.
Will’s Take (@crackseason) – Charlotte Hornets
There are only three teams left that the Heat could play and those would be the Hawks, Hornets, or the Cavaliers. The Heat should be super confident, no matter who they play, but is there a preference?
I think there is. The Hornets should be the team that Miami is hoping to face in the first round.
The Hornets have a lot of young talent who can score the ball, but the young guys struggle with the elite defense in Miami. Miami posts the fourth-best defensive rating against the Hornets with a rating of 99.8.
We all know the game slows down in the playoffs and an efficient half-court offense matters. The Hornets love to run the ball, but when the game slows down, so does their decision-making.
With Jimmy Butler lurking in the passing lanes and Bam Adebayo wreaking havoc like the DPOY that he is, Miami will feed off the inexperience of the Hornets. Defensively there’s not much else Charlotte can do to slow down Miami’s Big 4 of Bam, Jimmy, Kyle Lowry, and Tyler Herro.
Miami is, simply, more experienced, has the better coach, and is the all-around better team. Miami swept the season series and I expect the same come during playoff time if the Hornets do, in fact, secure that eighth spot.