Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat: 3 big questions and a prediction
By Zach Wolpin
How will the 76ers handle the smothering brand of defense that Miami plays with?
The Heat have four great defensive players in their starting five. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, PJ Tucker, and Kyle Lowry all have made a name for themselves by giving outstanding efforts on defense. I expect them to give the 76ers a lot of trouble.
In the first round, the Heat were able to hold the Hawks’ best offensive player, Trae Young, to just 15.4 points per game. Significantly less than his 28.4 points per game in the regular season. Young also averaged 6.2 turnovers per game in the playoffs. That speaks to Miami’s defense being able to disrupt Young and throw him off his rhythm.
Miami has seven players who are averaging at least one steal per game in the playoffs so far. Butler leads the team with 2.8 steals per game. Max Struss, Tyler Herro, and Victor Oladipo also provide at least one steal per game.
Philadelphia’s offense is better than the Hawks, so I expect Miami to have a bit tougher of a series than round one. Joel Embid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey are all going to have to have big series on offense to keep the Heats defense in check.