In order to help us get a better feel for the Heat and their fans heading into our second round series, I've done some Q and A sessions with some of the best Heat blogs around. Below is my Q and A with Danny Martinez of Hot Hot Hoops. Their site is great, and you should definitely be heading there throughout the series to get their thoughts on all of the action. Check them out on Facebook here, and follow Danny on twitter (@DannyMartinez4).
CHATCELTS: Can you help us get our fingers on the pulse of this fanbase? From the moment Bosh announced he was teaming with Wade, to the Decision, to the way the national media has overanalyzed every high and low, this has been an insane year. How excited is Miami about this group, and is this a fanbase with “championship or bust” expectations?
DANNY: It’s been really hard to get a read on the fanbase hasn’t it? The people of Miami are most definitely excited to have this group of talent on the Heat, but Miami is a town of short attention spans. We all knew that this is where we’d ultimately end up, so people figured “why bother” with the regular season. National telecasts have led to mocking of the attendance, but the arena has been filled for every game I’ve attended. Miami just runs on “Miami time,” so we’re late to everything. As for “championship or bust,” I’d say yes, the the casual fans definitely feel that way.
CHATCELTS: Erik Spoelstra has a pretty thankless job. The media has been questioning his job security all season. He’s criticized heavily when the team hits rough stretches, and gets next to no credit when they’re going well. To me, it seems like this offense has really developed nicely as the year has gone along. Do you feel that the Heat’s postseason success, or lack thereof, will affect Spo’s job security going into next year?
DANNY: Spo is safe. I don’t think anything that happens in the postseason will change his standing as the Heat’s coach. Spo is Pat Riley’s protégé, he’s worked at every level of the organization, and he’s done a great job. The 22 most used lineups this season have all been net positives in terms of +/-, that indicates he knows what he’s doing. Also, the players like Spo, they definitely don’t want to go through Riley’s grueling camps and practices.
CHATCELTS: Obviously the Celtics took the first 3 matchups (the third of which was very intense) and the Heat dominated the final meeting on April 10th. What major takeaways do you have from those 4 matchups in terms of keys for the Heat heading into this series?
DANNY: In all honesty, I don’t take much away from the first four games, particularly the first two. They occurred so early in the season, with such different rosters, that I think it’s hard to take anything concrete from them other than the Celtics are a really good basketball team. The fourth matchup should scare Celtics fans some, because that is the only game played with the current rosters. That being said, I don’t see the Heat blowing the C’s out by 23 points again. The postseason is a different animal than the regular season, both teams understand that.
CHATCELTS: Are there any of the “Big Three” matchups (Allen/Wade, Pierce/LBJ, KG/Bosh) that worry you or that you think are more important than the others?
DANNY: The Allen/Wade matchup should worry all Heat fans. Ray Allen has destroyed the Heat and Wade all season long, while Wade has been miserable. Both other matchups have really been washes this year. If Allen can continue to outplay Wade, it’ll be trouble for the Heat.
CHATCELTS: Many Celtics fans feel that the Celtics are going to have a big advantage at point guard in this series. Are you concerned about the Bibby/Rondo matchup, and how do you expect the Heat to approach Rondo defensively?
DANNY: Sure, it’s definitely a concern, but it’s not as big of a concern as it once was. The Heat have done a good job defensively on point guards recently. I understand that Rondo is a special player, but I don’t see him taking on Bibby or Chalmers straight up very often. I’d look for lots of help, then spurts of Wade and James on Rondo.
CHATCELTS: If the Heat win this series, who are we going to be talking about other than Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh?
DANNY: Erik Spoelstra. As you mentioned earlier, he’s taken heat all year. If he wins, all of the job security questions go away.
CHATCELTS: Thanks so much for taking the time, and worst of luck to you in round 2. Before we let you go, can we get your prediction for this series?
DANNY: Over at Hot Hot Hoops, I said the Heat would win in five games. Obviously, that will be pretty unpopular here. I don’t buy into the mystique that surrounds the Celtics, and I don’t think the Heat players do either. The Heat’s “Big Three” have more talent than Boston’s and have the better bench. The trade of Perk allows the Heat to go small with Joel Anthony at center, a lineup that has devastated the Celtics in the last two matchups. Even though I picked it in five, I can see the series going any number of ways, with both teams winning. I’m just excited to watch what happens. Thanks for having me, now everyone come over to hothothoops.com and tell me how dumb I am.
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