May 1, 2009 12:10 pm US/Eastern
Heat Take On Depleted Hawks In Game 6
Hawks will be without forward Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
-
-
Official Dick Bavetta #27 steps in between Dwyane Wade #3, Jamaal Magloire #21 of the Miami Heat and Solomon Jones #44 of the Atlanta Hawks after Wade was fouled hard during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Doug Benc/Getty Images
For the Miami Heat, it's all or nothing on Friday night at the American Airlines Arena. The Heat will take on the Atlanta Hawks in game 6 of the opening round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. The Hawks currently lead the series three games to two and can finish off the series with a victory here in Miami.
But, the game may have become a little easier with Atlanta announcing forwards Al Horford and Marvin Williams will miss game 6 due to injuries.
Historically speaking, the Heat hasn't been that stellar when it comes to elimination games. The Heat are 7-11 overall when facing elimination in a playoff series.
In order for the Heat to force a game 7 back in Atlanta, the team will need a serious influx of improved play from rookies Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley. Chalmers led the Kansas Jayhawks to a national championship last year, but he's averaging less than 4 assists per game in the postseason and needs to improve that number for the Heat to have a chance.
Michael Beasley was the number 2 overall pick last year's draft, but has been basically invisible for much of the first round series. He scored a combined 18 points over three games in the series, but did start to make the twine sing with 18 points in game 5.
The Heat will likely be playing with a little more fire in game 6. During game 5 in Atlanta, a very physical game left Dwayne Wade nursing a head injury for part of the first half and featured the Hawks announcer openly mocking Wade. The announcer also called the Heat, "thugs," and said the Heat were resorting to "thuggery" near the end of the game.
There was plenty of justification for the Heat to begin playing a more physical game as the game neared an end. Hawks player Josh Smith got free on a breakaway late in the game and attempted a dunk that featured him doing a through-the-legs windmill dunk. Humorously, he failed miserably, but the simple act of trying to show-up the Heat angered many of the Heat players.
The failed dunk also caught the attention of TNT announcer and former NBA coach Mike Fratello, who questioned the maturity of Smith. "Sometimes you wonder if [Smith] understands the magnitude of the position he's in right now," Fratello said.
Needless to say, the referees will have their hands full during game 6.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
One Dead In Head On Crash Near Land Shark Stadium
Stumble It!
Reporting
