We learned a few things today.
Among them, the Heat are officially the No. 2 seed because, apparently, Doc Rivers gave in and didn't want to win Monday night in Washington. He didn't play his big four.
That means we've learned the Heat's first-round opponent, as well. It's the Sixers, because Philly's loss locks the Knicks into No. 6 and the Sixers into No. 7.
We've also learned that a well-run zone will still give the Heat problems, as it did late in the game against the Hawks. It took big three-pointers from James Jones to turn a tight game into a Heat win.
We also learned, officially, that Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a gangster. He has already smashed John Wall in the mouth (right). And Monday he threw a dart at the small of Zaza Pachulia's back after the most inadvertent of elbows.
But back to the playoff series against the Sixers.
It lacks the star power and the drama of a Heat-Knicks matchup. And when it comes to offensive execution, it would've been easier to carve up the Knicks and their "defense" than it is to play against a Doug Collins defense.
But if you look at it in terms of potential sweeps, it's probably more likely the Heat could sweep Philly rather than New York, a team that can have either one of its superstars take over a game.
Assuming Louis Williams returns healthy from his hamstring injury, he and Thaddeus Young might be the toughest matchups for the Heat, especially when you consider they both come off the bench and the Heat's bench doesn't match up well with quickness and athleticism, except for maybe Joel Anthony. Jodie Meeks could present a problem as well. In the two games he played against Miami this season, he scored a total of 35 points on 13 of 26 shooting, including eight three-pointers.
The best part about facing the Sixers is that the frontcourt duo of Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes aren't exactly difficult to deal with up front. It allows Big Z to stay on the floor as long as Hawes is out there, which means the Heat offense should be effective early in games.
The Heat averaged 102 points and shot 47 percent against the Sixers in three wins this season, both stats right around the season averages.
Not the sexiest of matchups, but it might be the easier of the possible first-round opponents.
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