2nd and 3rd are both realistic, but 4th or 5th would really suck. (If we had to have 4th or 5th, we'd better get HCA)
Why would 4 or 5 suck?
I think he means that 4/5 gives you the Heat in the 2nd round while 2/3 we'd meet the Heat in the ECF (if we get there). Also, of course, greater chance for Heat to get tripped up in an early round before us.
Even greater chance of us getting injured and tired as hell.
Just providing the reasoning for why one would prefer the 2/3 than the 4/5. No assurances either way, but my guess is most would rather face them later than sooner -- if only to give us a better chance for a longer run.
I'm not a fan of that school of thought.
Why not play them while our guys are relatively fresh? Sure, Miami's guys will be fresh, too, but I don't want to watch them run us off the floor, making us look 60 years old.
If we're gonna watch the Celtics one last time and we're gonna watch them play the Heat eventually, I'd like to squeeze three series out of them than just 2 
Hopefully, it gets to 4 though (or even better, one more season!)
If we want to go to the finals, we have to beat the Heat, so we may as well play them in round 1 while we are healthy and rested. Each round will take something significant out of us, and not really phase Miami, so the earlier the better.
The only people who should care about how many playoff series we squeeze out of this team this year should be the owners. I care about giving us our best shot at beating the heat. If we do that, then the rest will follow.
Watch as we play them in round 1, and then we lose, and then LeBron tears his ACL in round 2. That would suck, eh? (no offense to LeBron)
Yea, and how likely is that? Almost zero.
How likely is it that Pierce and KG are tired if we reach the ECF's and have trouble keeping up with the Heat? Almost 100%.
If your strategy is to hope Lebron or Wade get injured, then you've already lost.
Well, what if we go on a run? It's possible we bond even more during the playoffs with a sweep of our round-1 opponent or something. Then, we get days of rest and PP/KG won't be as tired, and we've already beaten a team. I feel like if we beat two teams before we play Miami, it's better than playing Miami first or second.
We can get some momentum, some morale boosts and who knows? As much as hate to say it, Wade and LeBron could get injured/tired too. And their role players.
Aren't we younger than them?
Our team success is based fully on KG and Pierce at this point, who are both significantly older than any of Miami's key players.
You can say what you want about Bradley, Lee, Green, etc being important, and young, but with no Rondo and Sully, if Pierce or KG go down or are at half speed vs Miami we get swept, Period.
If we haven't bonded enough by the time we hit the playoffs, then it's not going to happen. As for going on some run where we sweep a team, it's highly unlikely, more likely we lose in round 1 or 2. Even if we did somehow sweep the Knicks or Pacers for example, doing so will still take a lot out of KG and Pierce, and the Heat are likely to end their series quickly either way so we don't gain anything, we still come in limping.
The whole idea is to have Pierce and KG at as close to top performance as they are going to get this year when we play Miami, so round 1 would make the most sense.
Topic: Is the second seed within reach? (Read 5226 times)