Game story:
After falling to the Dallas Mavericks last evening in a close one, the Miami Heat dropped to 35-27 on the season. They remained the sixth seed at the end of the night but it was tough to drop one to a strong Western Conference opponent in the final minutes of the game. The Heat led for majority of the first half until Luka Doncic’s “Luka Magic” kicked in, finishing with his fifth straight triple double.
Now on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Heat will face another tough test going up against the 2 seed OKC Thunder. OKC are sporting a dominant 43-19 record and have won eight of their last 10 games. They are coming off a win against the Portland Trail Blazers in a game that featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finish with a 37 point explosion. Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren also added a 21/14 double-double along with Jalen Williams going off for 31 points.
This young Thunder core is no fluke. They have an MVP candidate in Gilgeous-Alexander and surround him with strong young pieces. They even bolstered the rotation to complement their young core at the Trade Deadline with the addition of veteran Gordon Hayward. OKC is tied for both the third highest team offensive and defensive rating in the league.
Heading into this evening, the Miami Heat have not submitted their injury report yet. Everybody played last night except for Tyler Herro and Kevin Love, who did not travel with the team. Josh Richardson is also out for the season.
Even though it was a tough loss down the stretch against Dallas, there were some key takeaways to the game which include the continued strong play from Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson. That backcourt has been very productive, and Rozier especially is starting to look much more comfortable. He finished the night with a team high 27 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds. He shot 10/17 from the field, 5/8 from 3-point range and committed zero turnovers in what ended up being his clear cut best outing in a Heat jersey since being acquired before the deadline.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both played solid, but neither had a true standout performance. Had both or even one of them play like their All-Star selves with Rozier doing what he did, the outcome of that game could have been much different.
Tonight’s matchup with tip off at 8:00 PM EST on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- NOT YET SUBMITTED.
OKC Thunder:
- Adam Flagler (g league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Terry Rozier, G
- Duncan Robinson, G
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Nikola Jovic, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
OKC Thunder:
- Josh Giddey, G
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Luguentz Dort, F
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, C
Betting Lines:
- Check the current odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 8:00 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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Re: Bam and Jimmy –
“Had both or even one of them play like their All-Star selves…the outcome of that game could have been much different.”
You got that right. Just score additional 7pts combined we get the W. Now they have to get it the hard way coz its the back end maybe those two come out gunning to make it up…go Heat!
Oklahoma Thunder is defined as ball movement, fast tempo transition offense and gritty defense. Ignore this at your peril.
Of all teams, Oklahoma is the closest team to the Heat, speaking of playing style. A lot of ball movement. This will be an interesting game.