Sixers-Heat scouting report

GUARDS

 Sixers: The young backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks is struggling at the wrong time of the season. Meeks is 9 for his last 39 from the floor (23.1 percent) the past four games, including 3-for-27 (11 percent) from three-point range. Holiday has been getting a bit careless with the ball of late, often jumping with no idea where he's going with the ball. The Sixers offense is so much better when Meeks is hitting shots, because it spreads the floor and allows the athletes on the team to get to the basket easier.

Heat: There might be no one on the planet who can stop Dwyane Wade when he has the ball in his hands and wants to score. His averages in three games against the Sixers this season: 30.7 points, 8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.3 blocks. At times he looks like a physically fit man playing against adolescent boys - he is that strong, and therefore unstoppable. He can also shut down defensively when determined. Point guard Mike Bibby is almost 33 years old and looks every bit his age. He is suspect, at best, on defense and very slow with the basketball.

EDGE: Heat

 FORWARDS

Sixers: When healthy, Andre Iguodala is by far the Sixers' best chance at somewhat slowing down Miami's LeBron James. Iguodala is not totally healthy, due to a tendinitis-ridden right knee. Elton Brand has been the Sixers' best and most consistent player this season. He is deadly when he gets in his offensive comfort zone, which is anywhere from 10-to-15 feet. Problem is, Miami does a great job of rotating on Brand and forcing him out of that zone.

Heat: If no one can stop Wade when he wants to get to the basket, practically no one can stop James. Somehow, some way, the Sixers have to be able to limit James' Herculian drives to the basket, although if they do that, James can dump it to fellow forward Chris Bosh. As a first option, Bosh is one of the best players in the league. As a third option, well, that's just not fair. His length gives the Sixers' forwards fits on both ends of the floor. If the Sixers design their defense to stop Wade and James driving to the hoop, Bosh might lead the team in scoring for the series.

EDGE: Heat

CENTER

Sixers: Spencer Hawes has seemed lost and very weak around the basket for the past couple of weeks, not long after he had become a consistent double-digit scorer. There really should be some opportunities for Hawes to get some points in this series, especially by stepping away from the basket and making his 15-footers.

Heat: Zydrunas Ilgauskas apparently will start, but this is a position by committee with Joel Anthony expected to share time with Ilgauskas. Many times, the Heat will go without a center, instead opting for a couple of perimeter shooters to go with James, Wade and Bosh.

EDGE: Even

BENCH

Sixers: This is a big question mark due to the health of Lou Williams. He missed the final four games with a strained hamstring. He says he should be ready to go tomorrow, but hamstrings are funny, they play with your mind. If he is able to go full tilt, and with Thaddeus Young, the Sixers have one of the best benches in the league. Either Evan Turner or Andres Nocioni is going to have to give some minutes to help out defensively on either James or Wade.

Heat: The bench is made up of specialists. James Jones, Eddie House and Mike Miller are outside snipers and don't bring a lot more to the table, though if any of them gets hot, Miami is virtually unstoppable. Anthony is a good shot-blocker, but not much else. Guard Mario Chalmers supplies a little spark, but not enough.

EDGE: Sixers, provided Williams is close to 100 percent.

COACHING

Sixers: Doug Collins has done a masterful job in his first season. He has put players in the position to score, taught them the value of caring about defense and earned their trust. He has been terrific all season at creating mismatches for his players. No matter what happens in this series, it won't be because Collins didn't make the right adjustments or was outcoached. He has seen it all and there is not a split second during a 48-minute game in which he isn't totally zoned in.

Heat: You would think it's easy to roll out three of the game's best players every night and win 58 games. But when five-game losing streaks are endured and when coping with the constant pressure of being at the helm for one of the greatest teams ever assembled is thrown into the equation, it shows why this hasn't been the rosy season coach Erik Spoelstra might have envisioned. Still, he has done a great job of keeping egos intact and figuring out how to spread the ball to all the wealth he has.

EDGE: Sixers

INTANGIBLES

Three of the Sixers' starting five (Holiday, Meeks and Hawes) have never played in a playoff game. This is just the second trip for Brand and Iguodala is the postseason vet on the squad with 17 games played. Don't think that means much? Wait until Miami goes on one of its patented runs where it seems it gets its hands on every pass and James and Wade are bullying to the basket. That would make any opponent swallow hard, let alone playoff virgins. There will be no time for settling in for the youngsters, they need to be ready from the jump, or they'll be treading water the whole series.

EDGE: Heat

KEYS TO THE SERIES

1. Sixers' outside shooting. It can't be overstated how imperative it is for the Sixers to nail outside shots. As great as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are defensively, at times they get caught either being drawn to the basketball or getting caught flat-footed once in a while. When that does happen, Jodie Meeks, Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala are going to have to take advantage.

2. Battle for the ball. Doug Collins made a terrific point the other day when he said his team needs to come up with 80 percent of the 50-50 balls, meaning if there is one rolling on the floor or being batted around the rim, the Sixers must come up with it. That will be a tough task as no one goes after the ball better than Wade and James.

3. Get huge production from Jrue Holiday. The Sixers' second-year guard has an obvious advantage over Mike Bibby and he needs to take advanatage of it in every phase. Holiday has to be solid with the ball, make good decisions and go hard to the basket when he decides that's his best route. Plus, should he have a good series, that will no doubt bode well for him as his NBA progress continues.