Potential Sixers vs Heat Round 2 match-up

[76ciology]

Yes, we’re still one game away from a series with the Heat.

Yes, Doc and the team may lose the first round despite being up 3-0.

But let me talk about the Heat after having watched them play in regular season and in G3 of the Hawks

Heat Defense.

Heat likes to blitz screens, that allows their bigs to step up while giving then some time to rotate on defense that when the pass is made their defense will be in position.

I expect Heat to put Tucker on Harden, Bam on Embiid. This allows them to simple switch it on defense. Sixers should counter this by letting

Also expect Heat to zone us on defense if Embiid gets hot on offense.

It would be interesting how the refs would call it against Embiid, Embiid is not facing Birch or Achiuwa that Refs maybe less willing to have Heat play Bam on limited minutes due to foul trouble.

Heat Offense

Heat plays Butler with the same role we saw Siakam did. He will attack the middle, and if we send help he will kick it out. The key here is Tobi, who i expect to be Jimmy’s primary defender, to be able to defend him on single coverage.

Heat will have Bam involve into a lot of dribble handoff with Duncan Robinson and force Embiid to step out and leave our interior defense naked

Down the stretch, I expect Heat will hunt Maxey and have him defend Jimmy.

Heat Rotation

Heat’s starting unit will be just as strong as how Raps started game 3. They’ll play scrappy defense to make up for the talent difference. If we dont turn the ball over, we’d be fine. If we turn the ball over, we’d be down by +10pts.

The killer in the Heat’s rotation is the bench units. With Robinson and Herro giving them a big mismatch on offense compared to ours. But currently their 5 man unit is not giving too much separation against the Hawks, so that is some good news.

Down the stretch expect Bam-Robinson two man game, forcing Embiid to step out then have a lot of Jimmy iso against Tobi or Maxey and Harden iso against Herro battle.

Herro pull up over a Bam screening him with an Embiid not stepping out is also a good offensive action for the heat.

for the sixers

The only edge Heat has over the Raps in their match-up against us is having Bam, instead of Achiuwa on Embiid.

Jimmy’s edge over Siakam’s scoring is Jimmy can drop 40pts if you dont respect him on defense like what the Hawks did in game 2. But overall, I expect Jimmy to have the same level of offensive power over Siakam and get his 20-24ppg average in this series.

Heat is not as lengthy as the Raps. Their length is comparable with ours, making them an easier match-up against other contenders who has a double big or double 7’ at the 4&5 positions like the Celts, Nets and Bucks. That’s probably one of the reason why we preferred (imo) to be at either 1 or 4 spot and be in this bracket than be royal rumbling mode on the other bracket.

Since Heat is not as lengthy as the Raps, its just gonna be a matter of effort in not getting outrebounded. Heat attacking the middle and dropping it to a cutter around the rim, won’t be as tough to defend whereas guys like James and Tobi can challenge the shots of guys like Tucker and Jimmy around the rim.

People expect Harden to struggle this game. I dont think that would be the case because like the Raps series I expect our team to hunt Struss or Herro and force them to switch unto Harden. Whereas the Heat can’t afford not to have Struss or Herro because of their shooting issue.

Heat is a formidable team. But Heat is more like the Raptors than the Bucks or Celtics. Whereas the latter two possess match-up advantage in size that has hunt us the entire reg season.

[Negrodamus]

Delet.

[Arsenal]

Embiid owns Bam. Defensive stud Tobi can limit Jimmy. Sixers will hunt Herro nonstop.

Plus Lowry may have a hammy opening the door for Ice Trae. That series aint over yet.

[SixthStreet]

My first thought watching the Heat Hawks series is that Maxey is going to be exposed defensively. Both Butler and Herro are going to try to get switched onto him, Lowry can also attack him in crafty ways and he's not long enough to contest their wing bombers if we try to hide him on any of them. I hope I'm wrong but I anticipate their scout will attack this weakness relentlessly.

[Arsenal]

My first thought watching the Heat Hawks series is that Maxey is going to be exposed defensively. Both Butler and Herro are going to try to get switched onto him, Lowry can also attack him in crafty ways and he's not long enough to contest their wing bombers if we try to hide him on any of them. I hope I'm wrong but I anticipate their scout will attack this weakness relentlessly.

We can hide Maxey or Harden on Tucker in the corner. Preferably Harden. That leaves Maxey on Lowry. Lowry will get his but Maxey will compete as he’s much improved this year. Lowry isn’t good enough to carry the series on offense, plus he may have a hammy.

[76ciology]

My first thought watching the Heat Hawks series is that Maxey is going to be exposed defensively. Both Butler and Herro are going to try to get switched onto him, Lowry can also attack him in crafty ways and he's not long enough to contest their wing bombers if we try to hide him on any of them. I hope I'm wrong but I anticipate their scout will attack this weakness relentlessly.

We can hide Maxey or Harden on Tucker in the corner. Preferably Harden. That leaves Maxey on Lowry. Lowry will get his but Maxey will compete as he’s much improved this year. Lowry isn’t good enough to carry the series on offense, plus he may have a hammy.

Lowry defending Maxey on transition or off the 2 man Harden-Maxey PnR will also be an issue for them

[Arsenal]

My first thought watching the Heat Hawks series is that Maxey is going to be exposed defensively. Both Butler and Herro are going to try to get switched onto him, Lowry can also attack him in crafty ways and he's not long enough to contest their wing bombers if we try to hide him on any of them. I hope I'm wrong but I anticipate their scout will attack this weakness relentlessly.

We can hide Maxey or Harden on Tucker in the corner. Preferably Harden. That leaves Maxey on Lowry. Lowry will get his but Maxey will compete as he’s much improved this year. Lowry isn’t good enough to carry the series on offense, plus he may have a hammy.

Lowry defending Maxey on transition or off the 2 man Harden-Maxey PnR will also be an issue for them

Agreed. A gimpy Lowry will get torched just like his boy Fred is right now by Maximus.

[mjkvol]

We can hide Maxey or Harden on Tucker in the corner. Preferably Harden. That leaves Maxey on Lowry. Lowry will get his but Maxey will compete as he’s much improved this year. Lowry isn’t good enough to carry the series on offense, plus he may have a hammy.

Lowry defending Maxey on transition or off the 2 man Harden-Maxey PnR will also be an issue for them

Agreed. A gimpy Lowry will get torched just like his boy Fred is right now by Maximus.

And they've got guys that need hiding as well. Maxey torched Herro the last time they played, and I expect they'll be hunting him any time he's on the floor.

[76ciology]

Lowry defending Maxey on transition or off the 2 man Harden-Maxey PnR will also be an issue for them

Agreed. A gimpy Lowry will get torched just like his boy Fred is right now by Maximus.

And they've got guys that need hiding as well. Maxey torched Herro the last time they played, and I expect they'll be hunting him any time he's on the floor.

Offense is easier with the heat. Except for Embiid, but I find Bam to be not the ideal defender for Embiid. Embiid struggles more against guys who have strength in the paint and also have length to bother his shot just by put their hands up

[Foshan]

this thread is about 24hrs too soon for my preference, be back later

[mksp]

Maxey isn't as bad of a defender as his rep. He's not someone that can just get hunted like Seth Curry or JJ. He competes, he's got decent length for a guy his size, he moves his feet. Not worried about his matchup on D.

[blargh]

Maxey isn't as bad of a defender as his rep. He's not someone that can just get hunted like Seth Curry or JJ. He competes, he's got decent length for a guy his size, he moves his feet. Not worried about his matchup on D.

Maxey is okay 1-on-1 on D; that’s why he’s pretty effective pressing fullcourt. His biggest problem is he dies on screens. I’m a little worried that it’s becoming an effort thing as he gets more attention and focus on his scoring.

[Jailblazers7]

I do agree that at a high level the series will be won based on who navigates the PnR better Embiid or Bam & who wins the Lowry/Maxey matchup.

I think Matisse is a wild card for us. He should be able to guard Herro effectively and could be a nice option as a a screener too. Miami is gonna want to stick their worst defender on him but his PnR chemistry with Harden could exploit that. Getting a good 15 mins from Thybulle could be a huge lift for us.

[Negrodamus]

this thread is about 24hrs too soon for my preference, be back later

Heat just dropped one in their first away game of the series. We're never out of the woods to defy the odds (in a very bad way). Just feels like a very presumptuous, and ominous, thread.

[M2J]

As stated, they are a very similar matchup as the Raptors. With Bam being an improvement in ways.

I really look forward to seeing this matchup. The Sixers can defend them possibly even easier. Adebayo isn't really a 3pt shooter to stretch out Joel. But, is a better defender than what Toronto offers.

I see it as a lower scoring series unless the shooters get going, and a real test for Philly's offense.

[LloydFree]

My first thought watching the Heat Hawks series is that Maxey is going to be exposed defensively. Both Butler and Herro are going to try to get switched onto him, Lowry can also attack him in crafty ways and he's not long enough to contest their wing bombers if we try to hide him on any of them. I hope I'm wrong but I anticipate their scout will attack this weakness relentlessly.

That goes both ways though. Even more so against the Heat. The whole league targets Tyler Herro, when he's on the court. He's more of a defensive liability for them, than Maxey is for the 76ers.

[Sixercise]

"It feels good to get into the second round"


Seriously though, I echo Foshan's comments - let's wait until this Craps series is finished

[Negrodamus]

This was a good, timely thread.

[youngcrev]

What kind of piece of **** makes this thread? Have you never seen sports before? Do you not understand the Gods?

[Sixerscan]

I don’t like the vibes of this thread so I’m locking it