Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Posted: 11:50 a.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
Whenever they go on the road, theyre hated. Whenever they go on the road, theyre roundly booed. Whenever they go on the road, they usually leave with a win.
The Heat will seek a virtually insurmountable 3-0 lead over the Sixers Thursday in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Sixers, who lost the two games in Miami by eight and 21 points, will have to deal with a Heat team that this year owned the NBAs best road record.
In Philly, just like in New York, Chicago, Boston -- or wherever they play -- the Heat are despised. Thats what happens when your superstar forward hosts his own Jim Gray-hosted TV special to announce his free agent destination.
Youre hated. And you liked it.
Its given us the mind set to help us win on the road, Heat forward Chris Bosh said. Were used to it. Im sure Philly will be amped and ready, but we have to expect that. Our past success this year is having that mind set that our backs are against the wall, its only us, and that brings us closer together.
NBA
Game 3 is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Game 4 is at 1 p.m. Sunday in Philly. If the Sixers win either one, the series will resume in Miami on Wednesday.
But the Heat feel like they can be just as dominating in Philly in front of the hostile Sixers fans as they were in Miami at their own sold-out arena.
The Heat actually had only a slightly better record at home (30-11) this year than on the road (28-13). They finished the regular season winning their last four on the road and seven of their last eight.
Weve been in a lot of hostile environments, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Everywhere we went the first half of the season, there was a legitimate vitriol and angst in the arena we went to, and it built a lot of toughness. We have several players in that locker room that love those environments.
Can the change of scenery help the Sixers? They lost four of their last seven home games, although they werent at full strength in some of them.
We have a great feeling about going back home, guard Lou Williams said. They did what they were supposed to do, and now its our opportunity to do the same things.
This is the first time the Sixers have dropped the first two games of a playoff series since 2005, when they lost the first two in Detroit, won Game 3 in Philly, then lost the series in five.
The last three times theyve trailed two games to none, theyve won Game 3 at home. Last time they fell behind 3-0 was in the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pacers, which they lost in six games.
In Sixers history, theyre 0-16 in the playoffs when they lose the first two games. But they have won Game 3 nine of the last 14 times after losing the first two.
We dont have anybody on the ropes, Spoelstra said. An NBA playoff series doesnt start until somebody wins on the road. We did what were supposed to do, win at home, and now theyre going to try to do the same, and we have to have an incredible sense of urgency in Game 3 and somehow erase Game 2 from our mind.
Philadelphia got our full respect in the regular season and that first game. ... They punched us in the face and got us on our heels in that first game, and we really had to fight and dig to get back in that first game. We need to go into Game 3 an see if we can start this series by winning on the road, because nothing has started yet.
The Heat have now won 15 of their last 18 games after losing six of seven right after the All-Star break, and Sixers coach Doug Collins said Miami is playing far better now than earlier in the season.
Their ball movement is much, much better as the season has gone on, and you can see the guys getting much more confident playing with one another, Collins said. Theyre spacing the floor, theyre playing incredibly unselfish, theyre moving the basketball, and theyre tough to defend. ... Theyre doing a much better job offensively, to me. Thats the biggest difference, because Ive always felt, when they wanted to, they were as good a defensive team in the NBA.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
Related: Sixers Notes: Offense dreadful in Games 1 & 2Heat's aggressiveness proves too much for Sixers