Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Miami Heat are 3-0 up against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs, and will soon be able to get some rest while they wait for their next opponents. Assuming they beat Milwaukee, Miami will take on the winner out of the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls series. Who would the champions prefer to go up against?
Common sense tells us that the Bulls would be a tougher nut to crack than the Nets, and the stats support this. Miami split the season series against the Bulls at two a piece and Chicago also put an end to the Heat’s incredible 27-game winning streak. They play physical defense and are not afraid to foul hard if it is needed.
In the regular season, Miami scored 102.9 points per game, but the Bulls limited them to just 94.3 points per game. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau gets his team to play some of the most destructive basketball in the league, which can often bother the Heat.
The Nets, on the other hand, have not been able to solve the puzzle that the Heat presents. Miami swept the season series against Brooklyn, winning all of their three meetings. In particular, Brooklyn’s perimeter defense has struggled to limit Miami’s excellent three-point shooting. In the three games, the Heat shot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc while keeping their opponents to an abysmal 21.2 percent from deep.
The Bucks will most likely be eliminated after game four and you can bet that Miami’s players will be rooting for Brooklyn in their couches at home.
Vytis is a Miami Heat and NBA columnist for RantSports. You can follow him on Twitter here: @VytisLasaitis
