Miami Heat @ Philadelphia 76ers

Your Philadelphia 76ers
Overall Record: 19-30
Home Record: 10-14
Against the East: 11-18
Fourth Place, Atlantic Division

The Sixers, led by Andre Iguodala, Rodney Carney, Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young, put together a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards 101-96 on Tuesday night. Andre Miller dished out a season-high 14 assists and Thaddeus Young, making his fourth career start, scored a career high 17 points in the come from behind victory. Additionally, Carney provided an immense spark off the bench, scoring 16 points, grabbing six rebounds, and throwing down several open-court slam-dunks. Sixers’ starting center Samuel Dalembert has shown great aggressiveness recently on the defensive end. Over the past two games, Dalembert is averaging 4.00 blocks per contest. He is also ranks twelve in the NBA in rebounds per game. Lou Williams has shot the long ball well recently, making 42.9% of his 3-point shots over the past eight games. As a team, Philadelphia ranks fifth in the NBA in steals. The Sixers have won two out of their past three homes games and three out of their last five overall.

Strength: The Sixers rank third in the NBA in offensive rebounds. Samuel Dalembert leads the team with a total of 175.

Miami Heat
Overall Record: 9-37
Away Record: 4-18
Against the East: 4-24
Fifth Place, Southeast Division

On Wednesday, the Miami Heat traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Marion and Banks, however, will not make the trip to Philadelphia. In three and a half seasons with Miami, O’Neal averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.88 blocks for the Heat. This season, O’Neal is averaging 14.2 points and just under eight rebounds per game. Shawn Marion arrives in Miami after spending all nine years of his career with Phoenix. Marion, who was drafted in 1999, averaged 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.89 steals and 1.35 blocked shots during his nine-year NBA career. This season, he ranks thirteenth in the NBA in rebounds (9.9) and eighth in the NBA in steals (2.02). Marcus Banks, a 6’2” guard, has averaged 6.1 points and 2.2 assists over the course of his young career. As a team, the Miami Heat are currently in the midst of a 1-20 stretch. In their most recent game, the Heat lost on the road to the Detroit Pistons 100-95. The Heat are led by All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, who is averaging 24.2 points and 6.6 assists per game. Rookie Daequan Cook ranks first among rookies in free-throw percentage. He is also ranks ninth among rookies in scoring, averaging just under eight points per game. Recently, the team has been riddled with injuries. Power forward Udonis Haslem is not expected to play. As a team, Miami is fourteenth in the league in field-goal percentage and fifteenth in turnovers per game.

Strength: Backcourt. The Heat are led by point-guard Jason Williams and All-Star shooting guard Dwyane Wade. The two combine to give the team over 31 points, 11 assists and three steals per game.

Weakness: The Heat rank last in the league, averaging 92.37 points per game. The team also struggles at the foul line, ranking 29th in the league in free-throw percentage.

Key Matchup: Dwayne Wade vs. Andre Iguodala: This game will match two of the Eastern Conference’s best perimeter players. Wade, as mentioned above, is averaging just over 24 points per game. For the Sixers, Iguodala leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Additionally, Iguodala and Wade are two of the league’s most effective defensive players, ranking sixth and fourteenth in steals, respectively.