Miami Heat Podcast: Brunch with the 76ers and Celtics

After the Heat "finished their breakfast" with the Philadephia 76ers and before lunch with the Boston Celtics,  bloggers from the Miami Heat Index, HeatFreak.com and Hot Hot Hoops spent 90 minutes recapping the Miami Heat's first round playoff series and previewing their matchup in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the weekly Miami Heat podcast.

You can listen to the podcast right here or three other ways:

• By downloading Part One (recap of the first round series with the Sixers) and Part Two (Eastern Conference Semifinals preview) from nerdnumbers.com,
• Subscribing to the RSS feed or
• Going to iTunes.

The Cast:

• Mosi Platt from the Miami Heat Index
• Danny Martinez from Hot Hot Hoops
• Alfredo Arteaga from HeatFreak.com

The Synopsis:
The podcast began with a recap of the first round series with the 76ers.

• Who was the most valuable player in the series?
• Who was the best reserve in the series?
• Who was the best defender in the series?
• Which coach won the strategy game?

The conversation continued with a preview of the series with the Celtics.

• Do the four games played in the regular season provide any insight about this series?
• ESPN the Magazine’s Player X said the greatest players talk trash to get into their opponent’s head and that it’s one of the things that separates the Celtics from LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Do the Heat need to talk more trash to the Celtics and stop deferring to them so much?
• Heat coach Erik Spoelstra announced he’s not going to change the starting lineup. Good or bad move?
• What was the problem with the starters in the first round? Was LeBron conserving his energy for the Celtics?
• What’s more important for the Heat — better starts for Wade or better finishes for LeBron? Will the Heat need better shot selection at the end of quarters to beat the Celtics?

The podcast ended with a breakdown of the matchups at each position and predictions for the series:

• Point guard: Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers vs. Rajon Rondo
• Shooting guard: Dwyane Wade vs. Ray Allen
• Small forward: LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce
• Power forward: Chris Bosh vs. Kevin Garnett. If Elton Brand had success against Bosh, then what does that mean for this matchup?
• Center: Do Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq matter in this series?
• Reserves: Can the Celtics bench keep up with the Heat?

This podcast was inspired by E.J. Fischer.