The heat and the 76ers' first Eastern Conference semifinals will begin at 7:30 a.m. on May 3, Embiid currently suffered a fractured right eye socket and a slight concussion with no comeback schedule, Lowry missed the first round of G4 and G5 due to a hamstring injury, and it is currently unknown whether he can play 76ers. The two sides have met each other 4 times in the regular season, with each team winning 2 games. The two teams meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals, who can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals?
The Heat eliminated the Hawks 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, averaging 94 (11th) in five playoff games, scoring 109.4 points (10th), rebounding 40 (9th), assisting 25.4 (5th), steals 9.4 (1st), blocking 3 (14th), shooting 46.5% (8th), 34.4% three-point shooting (10th), and shooting 78.3% from the free throw line (10th), Three-point shooting 38.4 (2nd), 13.2 three-point shooting (6th), 13.2 turnovers (10th), offensive efficiency 115.9 (13th), defensive efficiency 104.1 (2nd).
The 76ers eliminated the Raptors 4-2 to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, averaging 92.2 per game in six playoff games (13th), 111.5 points (4th), 41.8 rebounds (6th), 24 assists (7th), 5.2 steals (15th), 4.8 blocks (5th), 48.8% shooting percentage (5th), 40.8% three-point shooting (3rd), 84.9% free throw shooting (1st), Three-point shooting 33.5 (9th), 13.7 three-point shooting (5th), 14.5 turnovers (ranked 7), 119.5 offensive efficiency (2nd), and defensive efficiency 109.6 (6th).
Judging from the playoff statistics of both teams, the Heat defended better and the 76ers had stronger offensive capabilities. Two stats worth mentioning are that the 76ers have the league's first free throw percentage, while the Heat's average steals per game are the league's first. The 76ers have touched the porcelain brothers, not only more free throws, but also accurate free throws, which is their advantage.
Since the two sides have different playoff opponents, the value of these data for reference is not too large, let's look at the 4 regular season games between the two sides:
On December 16 last year, the Heat narrowly won 101-96 against the 76ers, Harden was not yet at the 76ers, and Butler was absent from Adebayo and Hiro, and the Heat relied on Vincent's key three-pointers to seal the victory. Lowry had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, Dunroe had 21 points, eight rebounds, and Vincent had 26 points; Embiid had 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, Maxi had 27 points and five assists, and Harris had 24 points and five rebounds.
On January 16 this year, the Heat lost 98-109 at home to the 76ers, Harden did not reach the 76ers, the Heat Adebayo was absent, and the 76ers relied on Embiid to score 10 consecutive points in the final moments to kill the game. Butler had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Lowry 8 points and 7 assists, Jurt Cevin 22 points and 11 rebounds; Embiid had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Maxi 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Harris had 22 points and 8 rebounds.
On March 6 this year, the Heat won 99-82 at home to the 76ers, Harden did not play, the Heat Lowry was absent, and the Heat relied on Hiro's excellent performance to open the point gap very early. Butler had 21 points and five assists, Adebayo had 6 points and 10 rebounds, Hiro had 21 points and 7 rebounds; Embiid had 22 points and 15 rebounds, Maxi had 17 points and Harris had 16 points and eight rebounds.
On March 22 this year, the Heat lost 106-113 to the 76ers, Harden still did not play, Embiid was also absent from the game, And Maxi dominated the game in the last moments, first playing 2+1, and then hitting two consecutive three-pointers to kill the game. Butler had 27 points, five rebounds and six assists, Adebayo 22 points and nine rebounds, Lowry 20 points, six rebounds and six assists; Maxi had 28 points, five rebounds, Harris had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Milton had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists.
In terms of regular season record, Harden did not play a single game, 4 games although both sides won 2 games each, but none of the games were played in the case of the two sides in a neat personnel, but the last game in the absence of Harden and Embiid, Maxi led the team to win the heat team with neat personnel, or can explain some problems.
Heat playoff lineup: Starting for Adebayor, Butler, Lowry (expected to play), Strus, Tucker. Substitutes for Hiro, Dunroe, Oladipo, Vincent and Dedmund. The manager is Spollstra.
76ers playoff lineup: Starting for Embiid (expected to play), Harden, Maxi, Harris, Andeble. The substitutes are Green, Niang, Milton, Reid and Korkmaz. The manager is Rivers.
From the perspective of lineup alignment, the Heat's interior line-up Adebayo + Dymont faced the 76ers Embiid. Embiid has a clear advantage on the inside, but his problem is that there is no substitute, and Jordan Jr. and Millsap, who have occasional appearances in the regular season, have not played for a minute in this series against the Raptors. In addition, his finger injury will also affect his play, and he will definitely be caught by the Heat's crazy bag, if his teammates, especially the shooters, can not give strong support, he will play more badly.
Strike against heat Butler + Tucker + Strus + Dunrough against 76ers Harris + Niang + Sebel + Reid + Colkmaz. The Heat's forward line is strong and weak, Butler and Tucker are both tough defensive roles, and Tucker is expected to be responsible for defending Harden full-time. The 76ers are on the opposite side, Harris is excellent offensively good, but his defense has been criticized. Overall, the Heat's forward line is stronger.
Backcourt against The Heat Lowry + Oladipo + Hiro + Vincent against 76ers Maxi + Harden + Green + Milton. The backcourt is still stronger for the 76ers, especially Maxi's sudden rise, he has become one of the big three of the 76ers, Harden played relatively average in the first round of the first 5 playoff games, but he played well in the key 6th game, especially the plus-minus reached a staggering +38, he has not played with the Heat this season, it is expected that Tucker will defend him full-time, as a former Rocket teammate, Tucker should know more about Harden, can Harden drive his teammates under Tucker's entire harassment while also playing aggressively. It's quite difficult. The Heat's firepower on the Side of Hiro can be expected, Oladipo played well in the last game, but there are rumors that he and Butler are at odds, and Butler is not even willing to play at the same time as him, which is bound to affect Audi's playing time.
Spoolstra is the championship manager and has a lot of coaching experience, but Rivers is also experienced. The heat's problem is that there is a possibility of infighting when the game is not going well, for example, there have been incidents before Butler and Haslem spraying. In addition, the Heat's big Morris is also an unstable factor, although he can't play, but he is actually interfering with the game on the bench, he is also fined by the league, these factors are unfavorable to the Heat.
Combined with the above situation, I think that although the Heat have one more home, the strength of the inside line still determines the outcome of the game, with Embiid's competitive spirit, he will certainly not miss every game, if Embiid can play normally, the 76ers will eliminate the Heat 4-2. Thank you for reading, welcome to like and follow, and leave your valuable comments.