Game story:
After dropping their fourth straight game against the reigning NBA Champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Miami have fell to 30-35 on the season. They are currently the eighth seed in the East, but .5 games out of seventh and 1.0 game out of sixth. With the Heat’s remaining schedule being one of the easier ones in the league, there should be optimism that Miami can string together some wins in time to avoid the Play-In.
Tonight the Heat head back on the road to open a four-game road trip against the Detroit Pistons. It will be the first half of a back-to-back set against the 12-53 Pistons. They have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games, but are coming off a win against the Toronto Raptors. That game featured a 24/23 double-double from Piston’s starting center Jalen Duren. Cade Cunningham also added 19 points and 6 assists.
Miami is going through another rough stretch of their up and down regular season. They are 5-5 over their last 10 games, dropping a few in a row after showing signs of making some significant progress as a team. Both Tyler Herro, who has missed nine consecutive games, and Kevin Love did not travel with the team for this road trip. With Herro set to miss another four straight games, he will officially have missed 33 games this season. He has only appeared in 36 games, making him available for less than half the regular season matchups (47.8%).
The worst part is that those missed games can still continue adding up, as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported that there is still no timetable on Herro’s return.
The last Heat win actually came against this Pistons squad 10 days ago. Miami defeated them 118-110 at home, with Jimmy Butler leading the way recording 26 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson also added 18 points a piece, along with 17 points from Terry Rozier.
Adebayo, listed as probable for tonight with a back contusion, will have a competitive matchup with Piston’s big man Duran. He is a double-double threat and capable of putting up big numbers, especially on the glass. Cunningham is listed as questionable for Detroit with a knee injury.
Tonight’s game will tip off at 7:00 PM EST on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Bam Adebayo (back) — PROBABLE
- Tyler Herro (foot) — OUT
- Kevin Love (heel) — OUT
- Josh Richardson (shoulder surgery) — OUT
- Jamal Cain (g league) — OUT
- Alondes Williams (g league) — OUT
Detroit Pistons:
- Cade Cunningham (knee) — Questionable
- Ausar Thompson (illness) — OUT
- Quentin Grimes (knee) — OUT
- Buddy Boeheim (g league) — OUT
- Tosan Evbuomwan (g league) — OUT
- Jared Rhoden (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
Detroit Pistons:
- Jaden Ivey, G
- Cade Cunningham, G
- Simone Fontecchio, F
- Isaiah Stewart, F
- Jalen Duren, C
Betting Lines:
- Check the current odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:00 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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Will say Let’s go Heat! early because I’ll be out. But will check score and comment when I have a moment.
The Heat better watch out! The Pistons have won 2 straight and “jumped” past the Wizards (which the Heat recently lost to at home) into the 29th spot in the NBA (out of 30 teams). Could mean trouble if the team takes the Pistons for granted. A loss or two here (the next two games are in Detroit) could put the team in a real tailspin.
NOTE: The Heat’s next five games after Detroit are vs Philly, Cleveland, New Orleans, Cleveland and Golden State (or as Alien refers to it as the easy part of the schedule).
GO HEAT!!!
Hoping delon get some pt, and that jovic balls out, after getting ejected last time around.
seems like the perfect opportunity to slowly start ramping up for the stretch run
I’m predicting a thriller full of sloppy play on both sides decided by a jaden ivey missed 3 at the very end of regulation to give us a lower case w. Go HEAT!