Interestingly enough, I actually really like how we match up with the cHeat.
Rondo on Chalmers
Rondo clearly has the upper hand on this matchup, and is superior to Chalmers in every way bar outside shooting.
Bradley on Wade
Bradley defends Wade about as well as anybody in the league. Wade also has a short fuse and has a tendancy to get frustrated if things don't go his way, and Bradley has a special gift for frustrating opposing players with his 'in your face' defensive pressure.
Pierce on Lebron
Lebron obviously has the edge here overall but Pierce and Lebron have had many warriors battles in the past - Pierce has typically held his own, and has had his share of victories.
Bass on Haslem
This is about as perfect a matchup for Bass as you can get. He gets to matchup against another undersized PF who's not a major offensive threat. Both guys are more jump shooters than anything else on offense as well, and both are 'energy' guys. Very similar players. Bass is a better scorer, but Haslem is superior rebounder - Bass will need to make an effort on the boards.
Garnett on Bosh
Another perfect matchup - there is nobody in the league I like KG matched up with more than Bosh. KG defends Bosh incredibly well, and Bosh has had very few big games historically when KG has been matched up with him. KG is a better defender then Bosh is a scorer, and KG is also a better scorer than Bosh is a defender. Generally KG has the edge here.
Backup PG - Terry / Barbosa vs Norris Cole
I think this game will be a good opportunity for Barbosa to do some damage. Miami (like us) lack shotblockers inside, and Barbosa is incredibly good at getting to the basket. We need to get him the ball and let him drive hard, hopefully get some easy layups. He's also a good outside shooter and a good free throw shooter, so Miami can't sag off him or put him at the line. Cole is a solid defender, but I think Barbosa could be a wild card here.
Terry may be a little slow to stick with Cole, but if he breaks out of his shooting slump and hits some big shots he could be a key. He's no stranger to killing the Heat, and you can bet that Miami (based on history alone) will be sending defensive attention his way.
Backup SG - Lee vs Allen
Miami's biggest weapon off the bench is Ray Allen, and there are few bench players who can defend him as well as Lee potentially can. Lee is quick and athletic and should be able to get around a lot of those screens. He's also good at getting deflection and Ray is an unspectacular ball handler, so there's the potential for Lee to pick up a few easy steals.
On the other end of the court Lee needs to take advantage of his athleticism and attack Ray off the dribble. Lee is pretty good at getting to the basket when he wants to, and Ray is way too slow to keep up with him at this point in his career. Lee should be able to abuse this matchup all night if he's smart about it.
Backup SF - Green vs Miller
Jeff Green has really made an effort to improve his defense lately, and he's atletic, long and strong enough to give Miller plenty of trouble on defense. He needs to stay in the game mentally and make sure he closes out on Miller's three point shot, and if he does that he should win the machup.
Miller is not a great defender and Green has the physical advantage in every way - stength, height, length, speed. If Green has one of his "on" games offensively Miller has no hope of defending him.
Backup PF - Sullinger vs Battier / Lewis
This could be an interesting matchup. Battier is as good a defender as there is in the league and is good at frustrating opposing players. He's not afraid to bang and take a beating. Sullinger bangs with the best of them and does a great job of frustrting opponents simply by bruising them to a pulp. Battier will make it hard for Sully to score, but our young rookie should be able to absolutely dominate Battier on the boards.
Rashard Lewis has no hope of getting rebounds over Sullinger, and Sully can post up at will against Rashard's weak frame. The problem is that Lewis is fairly agile and will take a lot of outside shots, so Sully needs to challenge and not allow him to get open shots. This could drag Sully outside of the paint and remove some of his potential rebounding benefits.
Backup center - Collins vs Joel Anthony
Another nice matchup. Collins does pretty much nothing outside of bang, hard foul, and play tough bruiser defense. Anthony is more of the same. Neither is any form of offense threat whatsoever.
So there it is - we match up with these guys about as good as anybody in the league, and yet somehow I still feel like we're going to lose this.
Important mention - we need to make a serious effort to challenge Miami's shooters. We've had questionable three-point defense up until recently, and if we let Miami get up open three's this game could be over very quickly. If we play good team defense and stick to our assignments, it'll be a good game.