The Miami Heat finally know who they’ll face as they open up their 2022 postseason on Sunday afternoon. With the Atlanta Hawks prevailing over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday night, they have earned the right to face the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
While either team would have been more than beatable for a Heat team that’s been among the best all year long, this Hawks team does present a very unique set of quandaries.
They have a guy that can, flat out, explode in Trae Young.
Indicated by what he was able to do in their final play-in game to get his team into the first round, going for 32 of his 38 points in the second half of the win over Cleveland, he can swing a game for his team.
They are also the team with more experience in the postseason, going on an impressive yet unimaginable postseason run last year.
Miami Heat Playoffs: Recent Win Over Hawks The Perfect Round 1 Building Point
However, there are quite a few things to like about the Miami Heat in this one too—the deciding things. First off, the Heat are just a better team, hands down.
The regular season records indicate it, as well as the final circumstances that got them both to where they currently are. The Miami Heat are the top seed coming into the playoffs, while the Hawks had to fight to get in.
Secondly and a huge part of all that goes into it, the Heat play both sides of the ball, while the Hawks can struggle, at times, defensively.
That was indicated by the Cavaliers’ early explosiveness on offense, until the Hawks stopped just enough of their potency in the second half to get it done, along, of course, with the Trae Young theatrics.
The Heat can be as explosive or as much as they need to be to match the Hawks on that side, while the Hawks can’t do the same on defense with the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat Playoffs: One Team Can Win On Both Sides Of The Ball And One Can’t
When you look at it all in totality, it all boils down to one thing more than any other and that is this. The Miami Heat can win games on both sides of the ball, while the Hawks need extremely potent offense or a Trae Young light show to get victories in the biggest moments, perhaps both.
Lastly and an example of the above factor in play, you look at the most recent meeting between these two, one that just so happens to come within a week or so of the time they’ll face each other in the opening game of their series on Sunday. To be clear, it was the Miami Heat’s second to last game of the year, back on April 8th.
This was the last game of the regular season where the Miami Heat played their regular guys and the regular rotation, while certain regulars still weren’t able to go. In any event though, the Miami Heat got the win by using their defense to limit a Hawks team in the second half, after allowing them to explode like they can in the first half.
It was a perfect illustration of what the Heat are at their best, a team capable of getting up more than enough offense to close a gap, while also getting the necessary stops to keep said gap from becoming wider.
It was a good comeback victory, in general, but especially in their last fully deployed win of the season, made especially impactful by the fact that they now face these same Hawks to open the playoffs. It’s a great way to go into a series with these very same dudes just a week or so later.
That’s what makes it the perfect foundational building point for the Heat as they embark upon their NBA Playoff journey.