Miami Heat or Charlotte Bobcats

evildallas · Post #1 » by **evildallas** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:19 pm

Question to the floor: Which of the two Miami or Charlotte is a scarier round 1 opponent?

I decided to post this as a separate topic to get the Hawks POV and hopefully the take of the occasional visiting Magic fan (I don't like started topics on other teams boards, but I am interested in their POV as well). The two teams are tied in the standings for 6th and 7th, so either could wind up facing us or Orlando. We could also get Milwaukee if we fall to 4th, but for the sake of this post I am ignoring the Bucks. Toronto has shown that while only a game and a half back of 7th that they aren't very likely to mount a rally and move up so they too are ignored.

This season:
We're 1-3 against Miami this year. We've split with Charlotte and play them on Friday and again April 6th. Orlando went 3-1 against Charlotte (one win was an OT game) and they are 1-2 against Miami with game 4 this week. How does Miami have a winning record against our teams yet are barely above .500?

My take:
In my opinion the biggest thing to fear about Charlotte is their coach and his relationship to Mike Woodson. Mentor-student dynamic gets magnified in an extended series. My hope is that Woodson has been away from Brown long enough for that to be mitigated. I respect Stephen Jackson, but he's not as scary as Wade and while Ratliff has been a revelation for them neither he nor Chandler have the potential to give us fits on the offensive end like Jermaine O'Neal's length can. They'll hurt us on the boards, but any long front line seems to do that unless Al and Josh are very focused on rebounding that day (I longingly remember that stretch earlier this season where the Hawks dominated on the boards for about 2 weeks). We beat Miami last year in a series of 7 blowouts which easily could have gone the other way. I would say that this year's Miami team has played no better than last year's on the whole, but somehow they have those wins against us and Orlando. Miami has more post-season experience on the team and as a unit than Charlotte as well which has yet to make the playoffs as a team although Jackson, Ratliff, and Diaw have been in the playoffs elsewhere over the years. My take is Miami is the scarier opponent for us, but what say you?

Skyhawk1 · Post #2 » by **Skyhawk1** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:07 pm

The Heat would be my choice. They're a TERRIBLE team. This team has a top 5 player in the league and is struggling to make the playoffs. Forget about the fact we are 1-3 against them. On the other hand the Bobcats are way more talented overall. Most important, they are hungry for the playoffs, they have something to prove. Very dangerous team.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #3 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:20 am

Skyhawk1 wrote:The Heat would be my choice. They're a TERRIBLE team. This team has a top 5 player in the league and is struggling to make the playoffs. Forget about the fact we are 1-3 against them. On the other hand the Bobcats are way more talented overall. Most important, they are hungry for the playoffs, they have something to prove. Very dangerous team.

I don't know about terrible...but Miami has never impressed me either. Charlotte and Milwaukee are pretty tough teams though.

tontoz · Post #4 » by **tontoz** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:45 am

I think the Hawks are destined to have a tough first round no matter what. This year Miami has Q who has been shooting lights out from 3 and is a vet with enough size to guard JJ.

Last year they were relying on a lot of young players. Now they have Arroyo who has been around awhile and Qrich. i think that makes a big difference for them.