Heat drives for No. 5, braces for Hawks or Celtics in first round

April 13, 2010|By Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel

The Miami Heat enters Wednesday's season finale against the New Jersey Nets in control of where it is headed in the standings.

Less certain is where it is headed in the playoffs.

With a victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat would finish as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, the same position it finished last season. The difference is the Heat enters the game at AmericanAirlines Arena at 46-35, after finishing last season 43-39.

The Heat also would secure the No. 5 seed should the Milwaukee Bucks lose its season finale in Boston.

Less certain is the Heat's playoff opponent, with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks each looming as a potential first-round foe, with that best-of-seven series to open on the road either Saturday or Sunday.

Should the Heat win Wednesday, it would be guaranteed of a first-round matchup against the Celtics. Should it lose, it still would face the Celtics if Boston defeats Milwaukee. A Heat loss and Bucks win would leave the Heat in a No. 6 vs. No. 3 series against Atlanta.

The Heat finished 0-3 against the Celtics, but went 3-1 against the Hawks, after falling in seven games to Atlanta in last season's opening round. Yet Boston's halfcourt approach is also the Heat's preferred approach, as opposed to the athletic, up-tempo style favored by Atlanta.

"We're more familiar with Atlanta because of last year's playoffs and this season, so we're more familiar with them than Boston, and we haven't had much success against (Boston)," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "But, at the same time, you don't really worry about who you're going to play. You can't control it. Those two are going to fight down to the end.

"I think we did a good job of controlling our own destiny, and we'll take whatever we can take and we'll prepare for either one the same way."

Even if the Heat wanted to manipulate the seedings, it would be practically impossible, with Nets-Heat, Bucks-Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers-Hawks all tipping off at 8 p.m.

"Certainly you want to get the best possible seed as you can," Erik Spoelstra said. "Mentally, that is a bonus. But you can't play with the idea to try to manipulate and say, 'I want to play this team or that team.'

"That would be messing with the basketball gods, and I don't think any team does that. I think that's more for the fans and the media to speculate about those scenarios."

But players do analyze scenarios, and center Jermaine O'Neal, who missed Monday's road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers with a sprained left ankle that leaves him questionable for Wednesday, found himself doing just that.

"I think both teams present something different," he said of the Hawks and Celtics. "I think Atlanta is a more-athletic, fast-paced, never-really-know-you're-going-to-get type of a team. Boston, they have a championship pedigree. They're definitely not as fast, more our speed, slow, grind it out. But they have veteran leadership that can put you in a difficult spot.

"So it's kind of like pick your poison, really. Obviously with (Jamal) Crawford coming off the bench and him being able to score big numbers, Joe Johnson and those guys, being able to play at a high level, (the Hawks) can put you in a tough situation, especially in Atlanta, where they play at another level. But you never really know what to expect with those guys.

"But with Boston, you know it's going to be very physical, it's going to be a grind-out type of a game, every-possession-counts type of a game."

The Heat's games against the Celtics have generally been competitive. The results against the Hawks mostly have been lopsided.

"I think we like grind-out games more so than up and down. Boston has always made the plays, the shots at the end of ballgames to beat us," Wade said. "Normally, that's what we're pretty good at, when we get down there, we make the play, make the shot to get us over the hump.

"With Atlanta, it's been up and down in terms of what game is going to be seen. But that's because it's two totally different kinds of styles, and neither team can get a grip on the other team's style."

Some time around 11 p.m. Wednesday, the Heat will know where it is headed. But to O'Neal, it is more about the direction of the team.

"As players," he said, "we haven't really talked much about it, because we don't know where they're going to land at. We just wanted to be playing good, whether it's the fifth seed or sixth seed."

Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@SunSentinel.com

Sun Sentinel Articles