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There will be no opportunity for rival fans to crack disparaging 'Process' jokes in the near future to embarrass the Sixers faithful, as they go into the first round of the playoffs with the third seed and home-court advantage. Not only do they own an impressive 52-30 record for the season, they finished the campaign as the hottest team in the league with a 16-game winning streak.
The Miami Heat, on the other hand, have blown hot and cold. Headed into the All-Star break on the heels of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who occupied the 3rd seed at the time, the Heat finished the season 6th in the Eastern Conference standings. An improvement over their record from the 2016-17 season, definitely, but you get the feeling that they underachieved over the latter 40% of the season.
This series makes for an exciting watch because it pits two excellent coaches against each other, both with teams comprising a number of players who are the basketball equivalents of Swiss Knives. Let's take a look at what we can expect from both sides in this series:
Strengths
Philadelphia 76ers:
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The Sixers rank first in the league in field-goal percentage allowed at 43.4%. They are also great at defending 3-pointers, ranking 2nd in the league in this category allowing only 34.2% conversion from downtown. Their defense ranked third in defensive rating during the regular season, allowing only 102.0 points per 100 possessions.
The Sixers are also a great passing team, ranking first in total passes per game and second in team assists per game over the course of the regular season.
Rounding it off, they are also the best rebounding team in the league with 47.4 boards per game, beating the Lakers in the #2 spot by over 1 rebound per game, and the Portland Trail Blazers (the closest playoff team) by a margin of 1.9.
All-in-all, they are a well-rounded basketball team with a number of strengths in different areas of the game.
Miami Heat
The greatest strength the Miami Heat possess is the extraordinary depth of their rotation.
Despite missing one of their featured scorers in Dion Waiters for the most part of this season, they have found ways to put the ball through the hoop. Their wing rotation comprises of Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow, Wayne Ellington and Luke Babbitt - who're all capable of holding their own against the biggest names in basketball today.
Their frontcourt is similarly stacked, with Hassan Whiteside, Bam Adebayo, Kelly Olynyk and veteran Udonis Haslem all capable of putting in impactful performances against the best in the business.
Their point guard rotation comprises of All-Star Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson. Dragic is an elite point guard who often goes under the radar, while Tyler Johnson is a steady presence on the court who is a really good defender and able playmaker.
Weaknesses
Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid, who's missing the first game of the series (and possibly won't play high minutes immediately after he returns), is their defensive anchor and go-to scorer. While Amir Johnson and Ersan Ilyasova have been adequate in his absence, they are clearly not better players than the likes of Whiteside and Olynyk (who's been pretty good in a Miami Heat jersey this season).
JJ Redick and Marco Belinelli are porous defenders, and will not be able to do much when switched onto Dragic during the series.
In addition, the likes of Ben Simmons, Dario Saric and Markelle Fultz have no playoff experience. This could count against them while playing seasoned veterans like Dwyane Wade on the Heat roster.
Miami Heat
The Heat does not have a pure scorer on their roster - someone who can get them buckets with regularity and alacrity in clutch situations when the game is on the line. Despite the excellent coaching of Erik Spoelstra and the sets he draws up, the lack of bite in this Miami Heat is clear when we look at their points per game ranking (23rd) and offensive efficiency ranking (20th).
Hassan Whiteside, while a beast on his night, has a tendency to chase blocks and give up the paint position for cutters to exploit. Goran Dragic's lack of foot speed makes him a porous defender who could be exploited on switches.
Opportunities and Threats
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers' pure size is a mismatch for nearly every other NBA team. Joel Embiid (when he comes back) is a 7'2" monster. Ben Simmons and Dario Saric are both 6'10", while Robert Covington at 6'9" is taller and lengthier than most small forwards in the game. Putting the rock in the hands of Saric, Embiid or Simmons after switching them onto smaller players gives them a great shot at a made basket.
The 76ers have 2 elite 3-point shooters in Redick and Belinelli, while the likes of Covington, Saric, Fultz and even Embiid have the ability to knock down open 3-point shots. They could win the game from the 3-point line on their night.
Ben Simons will have to be wary of the defensive schemes he faces, since the Heat have a roster full of capable defenders who will sag off him if he's 18 feet or farther from the hoop and act as free safety nets - this is the very tactic that Spoelstra used with considerable success during the 108-99 win the Heat secured over the 76ers. His lack of a jump shot will hurt the Sixers much more in the playoffs than it did in the regular season.
Miami Heat
The Heat have to take advantage of whatever period of time Embiid is off the court - especially the first game which he will miss. With the frontcourt they have, they can dominate the likes of Ilyasova and Amir Johnson on the boards, while racking up points in the paint.
Their bench unit has a net rating of 2.3 points per 100 possessions and ranks 7th in the league, while the Sixers' bench unit's -0.6 net rating ranks 16th in the league. The Heat could make runs of their own when the starters of both teams sit in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of games.
One of their biggest threats is the propensity of Hassan Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk to rack up early fouls, hampering their play in the first halves of games. Rookie Bam Adebayo, while a decent rotation player, will not be able to guard Embiid, who's bulkier than him and has elite skills for a big man.
X-Factor
Philadelphia 76ers
Markelle Fultz has been a revelation ever since his comeback game against the Nuggets when he registered stats of 10 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes. He logged a triple-double in the Sixers' last game of the season against the Bucks, with stats of 13 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and a block in 25 minutes of game time.
While he hasn't shot 3-pointers at all since his comeback (he has just 1 attempt in 7 games), Fultz is a dynamic player who can power the Sixers on scoring runs he engineers in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Depending on the form displayed by Redick and Belinelli, he is a viable option to stay on the court in the 4th quarter due to his ability as a slasher and in isolation plays.
If Fultz plays his part well, the Sixers will romp home without much trouble.
Dwyane Wade
There are few players in the game today with the number of accolades that Dwyane Wade has accumulated over the course of his illustrious 15-year career in the NBA. The 12-time All-Star has accepted a bench role with the Heat and has shown that he is still an above-average NBA player despite the troubles he's faced with advancing age and a meniscus-less knee.
Wade took over in the Heat's 102-101 win over the 76ers in the regular season, scoring 27 points on 16 field goal attempts and making all 5 of his free throws. His play will dictate how far the Heat will go in the postseason, with his two-way presence and ability to knock down clutch shots.
Prediction
The absence of Embiid makes this series more interesting than it would have been if he'd played all the games. Nevertheless, the Sixers have shown their ability to dominate good teams without him in their last 7 games of their 16-game winning streak, which Embiid missed with orbital fracture injury.
Combine this with the fact that they hold homecourt advantage and the red-hot shooting form that Belinelli, Redick, and Ilyasova have displayed in the past couple of weeks, and you'd be hard-pressed not to give the nod to the Sixers in this series.
Yet, the Heat will pose all kinds of threats to the young Sixers and will push them to the limit in every single game. The likes of Dwyane Wade, Dragic, J-Rich and James Johnson know no other way than to hustle every single second on the court, and they'll win at least 2 games in this series.
Verdict: The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 4-2 to advance to the Conference Semifinals
