Game story:
The Miami Heat have a huge night ahead of themselves in South Beach tonight. The 15-11 Heat are welcoming the top team in the Western Conference Minnesota Timberwolves to the Kaseya Center. The Timberwolves are currently sitting with an elite record of 19-5.
The Heat are coming off their most magical win of the entire season the other night.
They beat the Chicago Bulls at the buzzer off a crazy game-winning Jimmy Butler step-back mid-range jumper.
Aside from the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Heat hosting a contending team, one in which is another one of Butler’s former teams, the big storyline for tonight is Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
The Miami Heat announced on their social media handles that both players are listed as available Monday against the Timberwolves.
Herro, who has missed the last five-and-a-half weeks with an ankle injury is returning to the lineup tonight.
Along with Bam Adebayo, who has missed the last few weeks with a lingering hip injury.
BREAKING: Both Bam Adebayo (hip) & Tyler Herro (ankle) are set to return and cleared to play for tomorrow night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. (via Anthony Chiang/Miami Herald)
Kyle Lowry will be OUT due to minor soreness. Could we see a Herro/Duncan pairing in the… pic.twitter.com/W04upQYl52
— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) December 17, 2023
Considering Miami has been down some star power for a long time in these two, sporting a 15-11 record right now is pretty impressive.
Now with everyone fully healthy and the team’s ‘big three’ ready to go, fans can hopefully witness what this roster is capable of.
The Heat went on a 7 game-win streak and won 8 out of 9 games at one point earlier this year.
The Timberwolves are one of the top teams in the entire league this season, but superstar Anthony Edwards is listed as questionable for them.
Kyle Lowry is the only player OUT for Miami tonight due to some minor soreness. It will be the first game this season Lowry has missed due to an injury, so it will be very interesting to see who Spo will pair with Herro in the backcourt.
Could it finally be time to see the two-way progression from both Duncan Robinson and Herro playing together in the starting unit?
Heat Nation will find out that answer closer to game time, but Dru Smith is still out for the season. The only other capable point guard on the roster is Josh Richardson or undrafted two-way player RJ Hampton.
However, both Richardson and Herro are combo guards. They can play the point if needed.
A situation like this should bring people back to Media Day, where Coach Spoelstra stated this season could be a “point guard by committee” type of situation.
Tonight’s game will tip off at 7:30 PM ET on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Kyle Lowry (soreness) — OUT
- Dru Smith (knee) — OUT
Minnesota Timberwolves:
- Anthony Edwards (hip) — Questionable
- Jaden McDaniels (sacral contusion) — Questionable
- Jaylen Clark (achilles) — OUT
- Josh Minott (illness) — OUT
- Leonard Miller (g league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5:
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro, G
- Duncan Robinson, G
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Caleb Martin, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Minnesota Timberwolves:
- Mike Conley, G
- Anthony Edwards, G
- Jaden McDaniels, F
- Karl-Anthony Towns, F/C
- Rudy Gobert, C
Betting Lines (at the time of this publishing):
- Check the odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:30 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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First day of test
Anthony Edward’s, hip, and media quagmire- questionable
I could have predicted Lowry would be out today. Load management is the way of the world for older players. But, no one should use Lowry’s absence as an excuse. We are essentially at full strength.