| 2 Seed | 7 Seed | ||
| Miami | Philadelphia | ||
| Heat | 76ers | ||
| 58-24 | Record | 41-41 | |
| (3rd) 109.3 | Off Rtg | 104.0 (18th) | |
| (5th) 100.7 | Def Rtg | 102.5 (9th) | |
| (21st) 92.9 | Pace | 94.0 (16th) | |
| (8th) 102.1 | Pts/G | 99.0 (18th) | |
| (6th) 94.6 | Opp Pts/G | 97.5 (12th) | |
| (9th) 42.1 | Rebs/G | 41.8 (13th) | |
| (26th) 20.0 | Assists/G | 22.7 (6th) | |
| 109.3 | Head to Head Off Rtg | 98.2 | |
| 98.2 | Head to Head Def Rtg | 109.3 | |
| Likely Starters | |||
| Mike Bibby | PG | Jrue Holliday | |
| Dwyane Wade | SG | Jodie Meeks | |
| LeBron James | SF | Andre Iguodala | |
| Chris Bosh | PF | Elton Brand | |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas | C | Spencer Hawes | |
| James Jones | 6th | Lou Williams | |
|
Series 1-0 |
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The Heat and 76ers face off tonight in the second game of their first round playoff matchup. The Heat were victorious 97-89 in a game that saw big leads blown by both teams. Philadelphia came out flying in the first quarter, taking a 31-19 lead into the second quarter. The Heat's defense racheted up, and held the 76ers down until the fourth quarter. The Heat lead shrank to one before Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade put the game away.
The Heat's defense was atrocious in the first quarter, leading to Coach Erik Spoelstra switching to a zone defense. The zone caught the 76ers off guard and was very successful (the 76ers only scored on two of nine possessions). Although it was successful, don't look for Spoelstra to go to the zone unless the team's base man-to-man is ineffective.
Much has been made since Game 1 about the free throw disparity. Philadelphia coach, Doug Collins, has been fairly vocal in his displeasure and it will be interesting to see if his comments have any effect on tonight's officiating. The Heat will remain agressive, attacking the rim, in order to get easy shots.
LeBron James filled up the stat sheet on Saturday afternoon, but he was only 4-14 from the field. Some of his struggles can be attributed to Andre Iguodala, but James was also not his agressive self. After studying the game film, he has said his plan of attack will be different than Saturday.
Dwyane Wade missed Sunday's practice due to migranes, but will start. Rumors of Udonis Haslem's return turned out to be just rumors, as he is inactive again.