(2) Miami vs (7)

At least we know they have the celebration down...

Season series: Miami 3-0

Ed: Looking at the individual match-ups in this series, you can almost convince yourself that the 76ers have a decent shot at taking this series to 6 or even 7 games. Spencer Hawes and Eric Dampier will cancel each other out in what will hands down be the worst center match-up in NBA playoff history. Elton Brand and Chris Bosh is a pretty good match-up and should be fun to watch. Jrue Holiday will probably have his way with Mike Bibby, especially on the offensive end. Let’s even pretend Andre Iguodala discovers the magic fountain of health in the next couple of days and can at least contain LeBron James. And then you get to Dwayne Wade and Jodie Meeks and realize oh my god this could possibly be the most cruel and unfair thing you could think of. So with that in mind, and because I have a strange feeling the Heat are finally hitting their stride and are going to be out to send a message in this first-round, I’m going with the Heat in 5.

Chris: As much as I hate to admit it, the Heat are playing good basketball recently.  It seems that Erik Spoelstra finally decided to implement an offensive game plan and the dividends are finally paying off.  Believe it or not, a pick and roll offense with three All-Stars who can all shoot the ball AND finish strong is hard to stop! (Sarcasm: Off) Philly is a young and athletic team who I expect to make some noise in the playoffs every year and they always end up disappointing me.  The Sixers may be able to offensively stick with the Heat.  Iguodala is strong and athletic enough to get his points against LeBron as long as he doesn’t settle for jump shots.  Keep an eye on Jodie Meeks, he is a severely underrated shooting guard with a very solid outside shot. Unfortunately that will not win the series for the Sixers. Sorry Philly fans, time to concentrate on the baseball season! Heat in 4.

Sam: This series has all the makings of a sweep. Philadelphia has stumbled into the playoffs, losing 6 of their last 10. They have an extremely balanced scoring output with six players averaging double figures, led by Elton Brand. However, they are matched up against one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the Heat. Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Bosh have finally started to trust each other and play as a team and the results have shown with them winning 8 of their last 10 coming into the playoffs. Wade and James have also shown glimpses lately of a burgeoning two man game in the pick and roll, a play that is almost impossible to defend and clearly is going to be a go-to play late in games.

Miami in 4.