Game story:
The Miami Heat are walking into the next game tonight being losers of 8 of their last 10 games. They went on that historic 7-game losing skid, bounced back with a pair of W’s, but most recently lost to the contending LA Clippers on Sunday.
Miami is repping a mediocre 26-24 record and at 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings, yet this is a team full of names that are much better than what their seeding shows. Which has been a common thing all throughout the Jimmy Butler era.
Tonight they will welcome the in-state rival Orlando Magic, who are a game ahead of them in the standings at a record of 27-23.
The Magic are winners of three straight and coming off their most recent win against the Detroit Pistons.
The last time the Heat played the Magic, they got dismantled.
Orlando won 105-87 in a home game that also featured Kyle Lowry repping a Miami Heat jersey for the last time in his career. Lowry’s final stat-line in a Heat jersey was 2 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds on 1/9 shooting.
Which now brings fans into discussion on Terry Rozier, the newly acquired scoring PG from the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier has struggled shooting the ball, especially from three, but has done a lot of other things well.
Most of his stats have went down going from Charlotte to Miami, which really SHOULD have been expected since he went from a first or second option offensively to now a fourth option on a much stronger Heat squad.
Rozier is currently averaging 11.7 PPG, 5.4 APG & 4.7 RPG on 33% shooting, 100% from the free throw line (went 11/11 in the W at Washington) across seven games for Miami.
That’s more free throws in one single game than Kyle Lowry had combined in his last 10+ games.
So the rim pressure and point of attack is there for Rozier, which is something Lowry never brought to the table.
Lowry also was worse in all three main statistical categories at just 8.2 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.5 RPG this season. All in all, even with Rozier in a shooting slump he is simply still an upgrade from the likes of Lowry.
With 30+ regular season games left ahead of the playoffs, it is fair and optimistic to think that Rozier’s efficiency will surely go up over time the more he gets acclimated with a new system.
Jimmy Butler has ramped up his scoring production as of late and shooting the ball very efficiently. He is shooting a career high 44.2% from three and has a chance to make a run at the 50/40/90 club.
He’s already shooting 50% from the field, but 87.1% currently from the foul line.
On Sunday night, the Heat played a well fought game and held their own against a Western Conference juggernaut. However, there were too many tough shots made by the Clippers (James Harden especially) in that fourth quarter and not enough shot making from Miami in the clutch.
Butler led in the scoring department for the Heat with 21 PTS & 4 RBS on 8/19 shooting, Bam Adebayo had a 14/13 double double, Rozier had 17/7/5 but 0/5 from deep.
Josh Richardson, who has been playing very well of late, was efficient filling in for Herro who sat out that game with 14 PTS on 6/13 shooting.
Herro sat out with a migraine, but was upgraded to Probable heading into tonight. Duncan Robinson, who has been in concussion protocol, has been upgraded to Questionable.
Let’s see if the Heat have what it takes to stop first-time NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero and end Orlando’s 3 game winning streak. Tip off set for 7:30 PM ET on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro (migraine) — Probable
- Duncan Robinson (concussion) — Questionable
- RJ Hampton (g league) — OUT
- Dru Smith (knee) — OUT
Orlando Magic:
- Kevon Harris (g league) — OUT
- Jett Howard (g league) — OUT
- Trevelin Queen (g league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Terry Rozier, G
- Tyler Herro, G
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Haywood Highsmith, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Orlando Magic:
- Markelle Fultz, G
- Jalen Suggs, G
- Franz Wagner, F
- Paolo Banchero, F
- Wendell Carter Jr, C
Betting Lines:
- Check the current 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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Hopefully we can get back either herro or Duncan, this match up will be hotly contested.
Is it true JJJ will join the dunk contest?!
Let Tyler and Dunc rest for one more day. Its b2b games vs Spurs next after this one. Lets see that lineup again from last game. Go Heat!
If we win we will be tied for 7th place. If we lose, we will be firmly in 8th place. It is what it is.
This team is not playing well and is lacking a cohesive flow and rhythm on either offense or defense. Pulling the team together is Spo’s job. I’m confident he can do so if Pat gets him the right players. If not, it will be a long and painful remainder of the regular season, a short and painfull play-in/playoff season and a long, turbulent painful summer.
GO HEAT!!!
Of course the year I don’t predict 50/40/90 for Jimmy it’s the Free Throw Shooting that does him in… This dude.
The right team for current condition of Heat. winner wont need to score more then 100 to win.