The Miami Heat continue their five-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday evening–Thanksgiving Eve–inside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. EST.
The Heat have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams, having won seven of their last eight after beginning the season 1-4. Over this eight-game stretch, the Heat sport the NBA’s seventh-best NET Rating (5.4)–the No. 11 offense and the No. 7 defense–while owning the ninth-lowest turnover rate and 10th-highest true-shooting percentage.
A big reason for that has been the continued ascendance of (super)star center Bam Adebayo, who’s scored at least 20 points in 11 of his first 13 games, and Duncan Robinson, who’s averaging 17.7 points and 3.7 assists on 50.5/47.1/90.0 shooting over his last nine games.
The Cavaliers have won four of their last five games, including a nail-biting 122-119 overtime victory without Donovan Mitchell Tuesday night. This marks the Cavaliers’ third back-to-back this season; they’re 1-1 in the second leg of a back-to-back this season.
Wednesday evening marks the first of three straight against Cleveland this season, where Miami will see a familiar face in Max Strus, who spent three seasons in the Heat organization.
Strus appeared in 187 games with Miami (49 starts), averaging 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 42.7 percent shooting and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. He’s shown noticeable improvements as a rebounder and playmaker with Cleveland. He’s averaging 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 35.8 minutes on 43.5/37.3/82.6 shooting splits this season.
The Heat split the season series 2-2 last year with the Cavaliers. Can Miami continue their hot streak heading into Thanksgiving? Only time will tell.
What are your thoughts, predictions or concerns heading into Wednesday? Let us know in the comments!
Injury Report:
Miami Heat:
- Bam Adebayo (hip) — PROBABLE
- Jamal Cain (two-way) — OUT
- R.J. Hampton (two-way) — OUT
- Tyler Herro (ankle) — OUT
- Nikola Jovic (G-League) — OUT
- Kevin Love (personal reasons) — OUT
- Cole Swider (two-way) — OUT
Cleveland Cavaliers:
(not yet submitted at time of publishing)
Projected Starting 5:
Miami Heat:
- Kyle Lowry, G
- Duncan Robinson, G/F
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Haywood Highsmith, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Cleveland Cavaliers:
- Darius Garland, G
- Donovan Mitchell, G (assuming he plays)
- Max Strus, G/F
- Evan Mobley, F
- Jarrett Allen, C
Betting Lines (at the time of this publishing):
- Heat -2.5 (-108)
- O/U: 211 (O: -110; U: -110)
- ML: Heat -142, Cavaliers +120
Lines courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
***
To check out our other content, click here.
bams out dam
tristan thompson was a good pickup for them gives them some bulk mobley and allen are toothpicks.garlands back with maxwell smart and mitchell if he plays will be a tough test
Cnt wait to see Jimmy trash-talking Max.
testing
Tonight’s Games
10-4 Bucks at 11-3 Celtics
10-4 76ers at 10-3 Timberwolves
9-5 Heat at 8-6 Cavs
10-4 Nuggets at 9-5 Magic
Eastern Conference standings may look very interesting after tonight.
Looking forward to this game. Both teams playing well of late. If Miami can continue to impose their defense for 48 minutes, they should come out ahead. With Cavs playing OT game against Sixers last night, then traveling back home, Miami should have an advantage in the stamina department, especially if they play an up-tempo game.
GO HEAT!!!