1-seed vs. 8-seed, rock solid defense once morest a Trae Young at his best, the Miami snipers once morest the lousy Hawks defense. The roles are clearly divided before the first round series Miami vs. Atlanta, also due to personal question marks.
Game 1 of the series between the Heat and Hawks takes place on Sunday, April 17 at 7pm UK time and will be broadcast live on DAZN transfer. The complete schedule for all series can be found here. And here you can read which other games can be seen on the sports streaming service.
NBA Playoffs – Heat vs. Hawks: The starting position
The Heat have won six of their last seven regular-season games, earning first place in the Eastern Conference and potential home field advantage going into the Finals. The lead over Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia was two games.
The addition of preseason strong Kyle Lowry added a new element and structure to the Heatles’ game. Together with top scorer Jimmy Butler (21.4 points), a variety of shooters and a switch-friendly defense around PJ Tucker and Bam Adebayo (fourth best defensive rating, third fewest allowed points), Miami once once more turned out to be an extremely unpleasant opponent. And it will remain so in the playoffs.
While the Heat, plagued by a few minor ailments, were able to put their feet up for a week, the Hawks got down to business: With a strong final sprint, Atlanta finally qualified for the play-in tournament and there following the easy win once morest Charlotte also defeated the Cavaliers.
Against the injured Cavaliers, second-half heroics from Trae Young were needed to propel the Hawks into the postseason. The point guard scored 32 of his 38 points following the break tea and almost single-handedly made up for a 16-point deficit on the way to the 107:101 success. And the burden that the little offensive genius has to shoulder will tend to increase once morest Miami.
After Lou Williams (missed the fifth game in a row once morest Cleveland due to back problems) and John Collins (has only played four games since mid-February due to foot and finger injuries), another support member, Clint Capela, had to leave the field. The center hyperextended his knee, despite optimism his participation once morest Miami seems completely open.
NBA Playoffs – Heat vs. Hawks: facts and figures
| Stat | Heat | Hawks |
| Record Regular Season | 53-29 | 43-39 |
| Offensive Rating (Place) | 113,0 (12) | 115,4 (2) |
| Defensive Rating (Place) | 108,4 (4) | 113,7 (26) |
| Net-Rating (Platz) | +4,5 (6) | +1,6 (14) |
| Direct comparison | 3-1 | 1-3 |
NBA Playoffs 2022: How the Heat win the series
The key matchup for the Heat is clearly Kyle Lowry vs. Trae Young. The Hawks have the second-best offensive in the league, which is felt to be 99.9 percent related to the Young personality. Lowry’s ability to chain an opposing star was amply demonstrated in Toronto. But now he is 36 years old, Young is 23. It cannot be eliminated anyway, but it would be enough to at least limit the Hawks star.
And at the other end of the field, Young should also be the focus. Because despite all the praise, there are few players in the NBA who are so vulnerable. From a Miami perspective, Young needs to be attacked, chased for blocks (Miami leads the league in scoring corner threes!) and engaged in pick ‘n’ roll actions to drain him and ideally get him into foul trouble.
It also doesn’t look like health is going to thwart the South Beach team: Tucker, who sat out the final two games of the regular season with calf problems, announced on Wednesday that he was ready for the playoffs. Adebayo had to go into the Covid protocol the previous week, he too should return in time. Herro sat out once morest the Magic last Sunday (left knee), which may have been primarily a precautionary measure.
NBA: The Miami Heat roster
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
| Kyle Lowry | Duncan Robinson | Jimmy Butler | P.J. Tucker | Bam Adebayo |
| Gabe Vincent | Tyler Herro | Max Strus | Markieff Morris | Deayne Dedmon |
| Victor Oladipo | Mychal Mulder | Caleb Martin | Haywood Highsmith | Omer Yurtseven |
| Yes’Vonte Smart | Udonis Haslem |
NBA Playoffs 2022: How the Hawks win the series
Figuring out the path to a close series from Hawks’ perspective doesn’t take rocket science. Almost all hopes rest on the name Trae Young. In top form, he can be the best player in the series and partially compensate for the fact that the Heat are otherwise superior in all respects. In January he put up 28 points in the only win of the season once morest Miami, which will now also be needed – at least.
A Collins return seems unlikely, so a quick return (which seems possible) is all the more important. Without the Swiss, sophomore Onyeka Okungwu would join the starting lineup and Gorgui Dieng would be his backup. In addition to Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose recent performances have encouraged, and Delon Wright to a lesser extent, there is otherwise a lack of reliable bench players.
And at least one statistic should still make the Hawks confident: If they can keep the games tight for a long time, something is possible. Miami has only 24th best offense in crunch time and 21st best in the final quarter. No Butler, Atlanta’s weak defense – THE shot creator par excellence is missing the heat. On the other hand, the Hawks have had the fifth-best offense in the fourth quarter since March (132.3 points, +13.6 net rating).
NBA: The Atlanta Hawks roster
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
| Trae Young | Kevin Huerter | De’Andre Hunter | Danilo Gallinari | *Clint Chapel |
| Delon Wright | Skylar Mays | Bogdan Bogdanovic | Onyeka Okongwu | |
| *Lou Williams | Kevin Knox | *John Collins | Gorgui Dieng |
* It is not yet clear when Capela, Collins and Williams will be available once more.
NBA Playoffs – Heat vs. Hawks: Who will win the series?
The Heat are looking for redemption two years following the Finals loss to the Lakers. This desire should only have increased due to the first round last year – a sweep by the Bucks. And the signs are brilliant. Few teams can demonstrate such intensity and class defensively while relying on so many good shooters offensively. Almost anything seems possible in the East.
The Hawks, on the other hand, were able to save at least halfway a season that had been messed up for a long time thanks to the strong final sprint and the playoff qualification. However, getting into the second round would be a big surprise, the personal question marks are too big and the squad is correspondingly thin. But at least one victory will make Trae clear. Forecast: Heat in 5.
