BY SAM LACHOW
The Nets travel to Miami for the first time this season after beating them twice at home.
| Brooklyn Nets |
Breakdown |
Miami Heat |
| 32-30 | Record | 44-17 |
| 7-3 | Last 10 Games | 7-3 |
| 103.1 | Points scored per 100 possessions | 110.0 |
| 103.9 | Points allowed per 100 possessions | 102.9 |
| 94.1 | Possessions per game | 94.2 |
| 45.2% | Field goal percentage | 50.8% |
| 36.4% | Three-point percentage | 37.2% |
| 47.0% | Rebound percentage | 47.3% |
| 15.3% | Turnover percentage | 15.7% |
| Joe Johnson (15.2) | Top Scorer | LeBron James (27.0) |
Projected starting lineup: Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh
Erik Spoelstra’s Miami Heat are on cruise control. They’re 27 games over .500, battling for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with the Indiana Pacers. Spoelstra’s squad features a lot of the same traits from the previous championship squad. The team scores with ease, feature two of the greatest playmakers in the world in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, they play tough defense.
Due to the incredible athleticism and basketball I.Q. of Wade and James, the Heat are consistently able to get easy baskets. The amount of attention that they attract when they drive to the hoop leads to wide open baskets for the likes of Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and even Greg Oden. Still, the Achilles’ heel of the Heat is rebounding (sound familiar?); while Oden has been able to make limited contributions, the Heat lack an enforcer, ranking dead last in the NBA in rebounds per game.
Time to state the obvious: watch LeBron James. Before his great showing against the Wizards on Monday, LeBron struggled in his last 3 games. While the Heat have struggled against the Nets in their two games this season, James put up big numbers: 26-7-6 in their first game, and a monster 36-7-5 in the second.
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