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As the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat topped the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Despite injuries to Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler, the Heat did not lose a beat as reliable role players like Victor Oladipo and Max Strus stepped up in the games without their top players.
The defensive game plan against star point guard Trae Young was phenomenal as the rhythm and offensive schemes of the Hawks were heavily disrupted. As Miami prepares for the opening of their second-round series against Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the Philadelphia 76ers, this will be another enormous challenge for the Heat defensively. As the one seed and the favorites of beating the 76ers, these are the key takeaways on how the Heat will come out victorious in this seven-game contest.
Depth
In a tough, rugged, and long series the depth and rotation of any NBA roster must be maximized tremendously. For the Heat, they have numerous individuals who could splash over five threes a game like Strus, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro. Coach Erik Spoelstra usually relies on a constant group for a series, but he has a few swing guys he experiments with in the middle of a series.
Lowry and Butler are likely to return in Game 1 on Monday night and with Embiid out indefinitely for the 76ers, the huge edge in the number of healthy bodies for them. Even if Embiid returns at some point, Miami has a plethora of options they will look to throw at Embiid and Harden all throughout the series as the goal would be to put them in uncomfortable positions as they will likely get exhausted if this series reaches six or seven games.
Embiid is out indefinitely
For any organization that will not have its franchise cornerstone going up against the best team in the East, this will be a tumultuous and disastrous ride for Philadelphia. The short-term goal would be to try to steal at least one game at the FTX Arena before hopefully welcoming back Embiid in the middle of the series. Without Embiid in the lineup, the pressure intensifies more on the hands of Harden in this Heat series.
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Harden may need to elevate his numbers and emerge as one of the best players in the league for the 76ers to have a legitimate chance against Miami. Spolestra would definitely formulate fantastic schemes wherein Harden will be forced to be a non-threat in the scoring department. With Rivers already playing a limited rotation, Spoelstra could even exploit more on the undermanned lineup of 76ers and wear them down even if Embiid could possibly return at some point.
Playoff experience
From the 76ers rotation of Rivers, there are only two folks who have advanced to the Conference Finals in their career, namely Harden and Danny Green. For the Heat lineup, they just recently experienced a Finals run with this current core, so they have encountered these rare circumstances of a deep playoff run. Even guys like Lowry, Markieff Morris, and P.J. Tucker have already earned the coveted championship ring in their career.
These experiences they have gone through are not quantifiable, but it will be very evident in this series that Miami would be more calm and composed during clutch situations. In a 50-50 series like this, those brilliant decisions in the final seconds or minutes of a contest could decide the outcome of this matchup. Even during the final possessions of the game, the Heat have numerous choices of giving the rock to either Lowry, Butler, or Herro and they will be confident.
No Embiid due to an orbital fracture and concussion will be an enormous advantage for the Heat. If he is not cleared to return soon, this will be a quick four or five game series for Miami for them to advance to the Conference Finals for the second time in the last three years. The slew of injuries all throughout the season did not negatively affect Miami and with all of them ready, they will be a tough out against anyone in the league.
