Keeping An Eye On The Heat/Hawks, Part 2

 Nobody is trying to hex, or jinx anyone. If you haven’t noticed by now, the WFNY mantra for these playoffs is positive thinking. Confidence, if you will, that the Cavaliers are indeed as good as advertised. With that in mind, we asked transplanted Clevelander Nick Paparodis to keep an eye on the Cavs’ potential second round opponent. Here is his recap of game 2.

Wednesday night in Atlanta the Miami Heat defeated the Hawks 108-93 to even the series at 1-1. Dwayne Wade did his thing as he put up 33 points and seven assists including some late game heroics to halt the Hawks hopes for a comeback in the 4th quarter. Wade and Ohio States own Daequan Cook combined for 12 3-pointers as the Heat showed exactly why they are the #5 seed in the playoffs.

Now, I know what you’re going to say. “Weren’t you the guy who told us a few days ago this series would be a cake walk for the Hawks?” Indeed I did and I stand by it. If the readers remember, I also said, “Atlanta remains a very inexperienced playoff team while Dwayne Wade is worth at least one or two wins in this series.”

Now, this is the part where I man up and admit underestimating the Heat just a tad. Following last year’s home court sweep of the Celtics I truly expect the Hawks to be a much more inspired team at home. I did not see the Heat being able to come in and steal a game in Atlanta but, that’s what Dwayne Wade will do for a team. We Cleveland fans know that as well as anyone with LBJ on the team.

Fact of the matter is, I like what the Heat have done this year with a young core of players and a great leader but I just can’t see them winning four games against the Hawks. Atlanta has a team with solid contributors every night unlike the Heat whose bench and starters outside Wade can go cold at any time. Jermaine O’Neal scored 19 points last night for the Heat which is an aberration for a guy who’s averaged 13.3 all season. Daequan Cook also scored 11 more points than his season average of 9.1. These are two guys you can’t count on every night and if you do it will come back to bite you hard. The Heat traditionally goes as the rest of the team outside Wade goes and 39 of 82 times this season they didn’t go well.

As for the Hawks, even in a losing performance they had six players with over 11 points including all five starters for the second straight game. For the Hawks unlike the Heat, this is a nightly routine as all six of those players have averaged over 10 points a game for the season. The key for the Hawks will be locking down on defense and beating a team who doesn’t respond well to physical play. Earlier this year the Cavs managed to dismantle Wade’s attack in multiple games through physical relentless defense.

From an outside perspective, as most of us Cavaliers fans have, the numbers favor the Hawks in this series on the road or at home. However, the immeasurable variable is and always will be Dwayne Wade. It’s still far too early to tell how the series will conclude but a win for either team in Saturdays game 3 means little. The story teller will be how well Atlanta plays on the road or if Miami’s supporting cast can step up and perform for a second straight game. If either happens it will largely affect the outcome of the series by giving each team needed confidence heading into a pivotal game 4 set for next Monday.

Regarding the Cavs, this 4/5 matchup is turning into an ideal situation. With the way both teams are playing, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for the series to end in a game 7 slugfest. Meanwhile, the Cavs should be resting up in Cleveland while watching each game closely studying the next round opponents playoff tendencies come next week. For now, the Hawks/Heat matchup remains nothing more than one of seven other playoff series’ taking place. Until the Pistons are eliminated, the Heat/Hawks series might as well be the Blazers/Rockets series.

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(Photo by Scott Cunningham)