Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Heat are expected to be the team to come out of the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs behind their “big three,” Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. The Heat has dominated opposition all season long and will continue to do so in the postseason. However, it will not be Wade, Bosh or James that holds the key to a consecutive NBA title for Miami, but Shane Battier.
Battier hits crucial threes when James, Bosh or Wade is not playing as well as they do on a consistent basis. His added points from three and his (so far) perfect playoff free throw record give the Heat a much needed boost from a player not named Bosh, Wade or James. The threat he poses on the outside opens up the floor for the rest of Miami, as well.
Unfortunately for the Heat, Battier was one for seven from three point range in the first game of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks (he was a little better in the second game where he went two for five). The Heat look like they will cruise past Milwaukee in the first round, but what happens when the teams they face get better defensively? Battier has to take smarter shots, because, if he goes one for seven against a better team, Miami might lose.
The Heat are on a one way path to the NBA Finals; all of the teams in the Eastern Conference are too injury laden to stop Bosh, James and Wade for a whole series. It looks like the team that can stop Miami from repeating will have to come from the Western Conference, and Battier will be a key asset in defeating that team.
