By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia 76ers had a lot of momentum heading into their Game 2 match-up against the Heat. They were riding a 17-game win streak and had just destroyed the Heat in the previous game by a score of 130-103. All that momentum the Sixers had went out the window. Dwayne Wade was a big reason why, he performed like his old self during the game. The Sixers never had an answer for D-Wade. Playoff games are all about adjustments, and the Miami Heat adjusted to everything the Sixers were doing in Game 2. Now, the Sixers must change their strategy if they want to beat the Heat in Game 3.
The 76ers were hit in the mouth early during Game 2 as the Heat were hitting all their shots and were hot from the three-point line. The Heat also took advantage of some momentum killing turnovers that the Sixers committed. A big beneficiary of the hot shooting and the turnovers was Heat Guard, Dwayne Wade.
Wade had a hot shooting night off the bench as he scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had three assists. Wade had the play of the game when he stole the ball from Ersan Ilyasova and scored. That steal from Wade stopped the Sixers momentum. Wade must have found the fountain of youth because he played like his old self and the Sixers did not have an answer for it.
It was Wade’s scoring prowess and timely defense that helped the Heat hold the Sixers off late in the game. The Heat beat the Sixers 113-103.
The Sixers did not go down quietly though they worked their way back from a 16-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. The comeback effort was led by some hot shooting and fast break opportunities off of turnovers. However, the Sixers fell short due to not being able to adjust to what the Heat were doing offensively, and turnovers.
The Sixers live and die by how many turnovers they commit during a game. If the Sixers limit their turnovers usually they pull out a win. The Sixers fell short on Monday but must adjust if they have any hope of beating the Heat in Miami on Thursday night.
The Sixers have not won a game in Miami yet this season. If they want to win and take a 2-1 series lead they must get their shooters involved early during the game. The Heat effectively shut their shooters down by not allowing them to have any space to get off a clean shot. They also must find a way to limit Wade. Or they will be victimized by another appearance of vintage D-Wade.
The Sixers must find a way to get their shooters some open looks, they must limit their turnovers, and stop D-Wade if they want to win. The playoffs are about adjustments and Brett Brown must adjust his game plan, so his team never falls victim to Wade turning back the clock again.
