Game Two Prediction

But first, some quick notes about Game 1:
- I thought I was going to kill Josh at the beginning of the game. He came out firing two jump shots and just looking confused on defensive rotations, once giving up a wide open 3. Luckily he got his head on straight and attacked the rim. I think he was inspired by Wade...
- Did Wade give up on the game in the second half ala Kobe a couple of years ago? I mean it looked like Wade was purposefully not shooting in the third quarter to try and show a national audience just how bad his supporting cast was.
- Wade knows that Zaza has no chance at blocking his shot. Anytime Zaza was the help defender, Wade looked to dunk all over him.

Now onto Game 2. Here are some predictions I am quite confident of.
- Josh will not get 9 buckets in the paint. The Miami big men just gave up. If they do that again, I can't see them and/or the coach staying on the team for long. I think the Heat will go to a smaller, more athletic lineup for Game 2. Josh and Al do not have very developed post games, so having O'Neal in the game is not an advantage.
- The Heat will not go 4 for 23 from 3. The Hawks played good interior D because we could slack off the 3-point shooters. It will be tougher to pack all the defenders into the paint when the 3s are falling. However, the Hawks must continue to make it difficult for the Heat guards to penetrate, otherwise they will get killed. There is no way the Heat can beat us for more than one game relying solely on jumpers. So keep packing it in.
- Someone other than Wade will score more than 10 points for the Heat. They have to, don't they?

While the Heat will perform better in Game 2 than the embarrassing Game 1 loss, I think their deficiencies and inexperience are too much for the raucous Phillips Arena environment (feels good to type that).

Hawks 95, Heat 84