Oh, how quickly things change. I had postulated a Charlotte Hornets close-out of the Miami Heat, and was dead wrong. Miami stole Charlotte’s candy with a Game 6 road win, then demolished the upstarts in Florida last night.
The Toronto Raptors are in tough. Miami, even without Chris Bosh (we’ll come back to him), puts a veteran, refuse-to-lose squad on the court.
Their starters in all seven first-round games:
- PG – Goran Dragic…a left-handed Jose Calderon, a pass-first European who isn’t shy about taking a 3-ball or driving to the hoop…don’t sleep on him, or he will burn you
- SG – Dwyane Wade…ageless superstar already has 3 championship rings…he could retire tomorrow and be a first-ballot Hall of Famer…tied for lead in Heat in playoff scoring with 19 points per game [PPG]
- SF – Joe Johnson…that man again…a huge problem for Raptors in Nets series two years ago…playing like a beast since joining the Heat after Nets let him go…highly efficient shooter from anywhere on the floor
- PF – Luol Deng…co-leader in playoff scoring…20 of 39 from beyond the arc so far…do-it-all “glue” guy
- C – Hassan Whiteside…best value for money in NBA…crazy rebounding and shot-blocking numbers for a guy who was playing pickup in the local Y two years ago…a taller Bismack Biyombo
Coach Erik Spoelstra is a two-time NBA Championship winner, so has the respect of his aging but still highly dangerous squad.