Gary Payton Looks at Saturday's Hawks vs Heat Game

The Atlanta Hawks, who are jockeying for high playoff position in the East, take to the road on Saturday (March 6) when they play the Miami Heat, who are fighting for their post-season lives, in a key NBA matchup. BetFlix called upon former All-Star guard Gary Payton, who was a member of the one and only Heat championship team, to give his analysis.

Payton knows that Miami is in a position where they have to grab any victory when they can get it. "I think they need this win." The Heat, which made great strides last season after some housecleaning and the hiring of coach Erik Spoelstra, risks missing the playoffs entirely; going into the week they were a couple of games under the .500 mark and were behind the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors, while battling with the upstart Charlotte Bobcats.

The Heat has been struggling to play .500 ball at home all year; after a losing streak there is some hope now that Dwyane Wade is back in the lineup. Wade scored 21 points against Orlando on Sunday, though Miami lost the game. he was sitting out some time with a calf injury, during which time the Heat couldn't come up with a consistent scoring option. Payton recognizes that Wade's presence is critical, noting that "Dwayne Wade having an MVP candidate year." The problem is that Wade has scored 27% of his team's point this season.

The Hawks have been one of the "Big Four" in the East all year. Unless some team suffers a collapse, it is more or less determined which teams will hold a home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta probably won't catch Cleveland for the first overall spot in the East, but the Hawks could easily finish second or third, which would be a big break, since that might mean they could host Orlando or Boston in the second round.

Payton thinks an awful lot about the Atlanta side, which placed two players - Joe Johnson and Al Horford - on the East team for the All-Star Game, and gets All-Star numbers many nights from Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford. "I think the young guns in Atlanta are the truth," he said. "Orlando can't match up with them. Boston can't match up with them. The only team that can beat this young team right now is the Cleveland Cavaliers." Cleveland went into the week's action with the best record in the NBA.

The teams have met three times this season. Atlanta scored a 105-90 win at the Phillips Arena on November 18, then Miami responded with a 92-75 win at the American Airlines Arena on January 4. The last time they met, Miami won 94-76 in Atlanta on February 10, as Miami shot better than 50% and Atlanta hit only 37.5%. The Hawks got just eight points out of the bench that night, and that's something that will have to improve. Eleven of the last 13 games between these teams have gone under the total.

"But this is going to be important matchup for the Atlanta Hawks in this matchup."

Gary Payton is just one of the experts you can see every day at BetFlix, talking about the NBA. Join Payton, along with former Dream Team member Christian Laettner, as they break down pro hoops games for the BetFlix viewers.