The Miami Heat are coming off an absolute heartbreaking loss to the New York Knicks last night.
In a game that featured the Heat going up by as many as 21 points in the second half, the Knicks stormed all the way back in the 4th quarter to pick up the comeback win. 4th quarter struggles have been an issue for this Heat team all season, and last night was a prime example of those struggles.
Guards for the Knicks Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickly shot the ball extremely well for New York. The game went down to the wire, but Butler missed an attempted 3-point game winner on the final possession.
23 points from Butler and a 21-point, 12 rebound night from Adebayo lead the way. Kyle Lowry had 10 points and 8 rebounds, Josh Richardson had 15 points on 50% shooting, and Jaime Jaquez Jr with 15/5/4 off the bench.
The Heat lost 100-98 and fell to 10-6 on the season, dropping from tied in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference to 5th place.
Granted, Miami is hit with the injury bug once again. Tyler Herro is still out, Duncan Robinson is now dealing with a thumb sprain, Dru Smith is out for the season, even Jimmy Butler tweaked his ankle last night at MSG.
Bam Adebayo has also been playing through hip pain.
The injury report has not been submitted for tonight’s game in Brooklyn yet, but it is expected that Herro will still be out and Robinson and possibly Butler to be questionable.
Even with injuries changing this team’s rotation on a night-to-night basis, the role players need to be more effective consistently. Jaquez Jr. played well but wasn’t efficient with his shooting. Kevin Love struggled against the Knicks to find the range.
Haywood Highsmith, who has been a nice jolt for the chemistry in the starting 5, has seen significant shooting number dips as of late from the start of the season.
Caleb Martin is still yet to get into any groove coming back from his knee injury to begin the year.
Cole Swider, who got an opportunity last night, didn’t do much at all to impress.
The Heat and Nets are 1-1 against each other this season, splitting a pair of matchups in South Beach. The last time they played, the Heat picked up the win.
It will be important for Miami to keep young, explosive players Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in check. Along with keeping Nic Claxton off the boards and not allow Spencer Dinwiddie to control pace as Brooklyn’s starting PG.
Tonight’s game will tip off early at 6:00 PM ET on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- NOT YET SUBMITTED
Brooklyn Nets:
- Ben Simmons (back) — OUT
- Dennis Smith Jr. (back) — OUT
- Cam Thomas (ankle) — OUT
Projected Starting 5:
Miami Heat:
- Kyle Lowry, G
- Josh Richardson, G
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Haywood Highsmith, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Brooklyn Nets:
- Spencer Dinwiddie, G
- Mikal Bridges, G/F
- Cam Johnson, F
- Dorian Finney-Smith, F
- Nic Claxton, C
Betting Lines (at the time of this publishing):
- Check the odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 6:00 PM EST
- TV: Bally Sports Sun (Eric Reid, John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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I think ORob is the back-up center of the future. At 23 years of age, he has much time to improve. If Love is not hitting his 3’s, ORob should play with Bryant in reserve.
Highsmith is a very good defender, but he is not a scorer or a rebounder. 7.3 ppg and 3.0 rpg do not cut it for an NBA starting power forward.
Martin does not have his “mojo” back.
Lowry is adequate, at best. He would make a good back-up PG and mentor. He is no longer a consistent quality starter. 8.6 ppg and 4.5 apg just doesn’t cut it for a starting PG. Richardson is also a good back-up PG or SG.
With Miami’s available draft picks and assets, I wonder what the team could get in the way of a starting PG and PF from the tanking teams (Detroit, Washington, San Antonio, Memphis, Utah and Portland).
Note: If Miami hadn’t blown those two games with big fourth quarter leads, they would be tied with Boston for the best record in the league at 12-4. Jus sayin.
GO HEAT!
its very obvious orob is better than jelly bean bryant.id like to see orob and bam play together.think orobs a baller.let him go eric
Nets still missing Simmons and Thomas. That helps because we may be missing more than Herro going into this one.
One thing we can do to improve is bring ORob back and play Bryant/ ORob. Put Love in only for sporadic moments. Doesn’t anyone else see that if Love is hitting about 30% of his threes, or less, he hurts us as he is often causing other players to give up their responsibilities to help with the man he is guarding. And Bryant/ ORob both a sure to get their share of offensive rebounds and putbacks, something Kevin almost never does.
Tonite game is going to very physical, very tough. But, somehow we can find a way.