GAME PREVIEW: Heat travel to Detroit to face Pistons following long weekend off

Following an extended break amid the NBA’s in-season tournament schedule, the Miami Heat are back in action for a matchup on the road against the Detroit Pistons. The Heat are riding a season-high four game win streak and have won eight of their last 11 games. Their surge in the Eastern Conference standings have put them back in the 5th seed and just 2.0 games behind 3rd.

The Pistons on the other hand are in 11th place in the East, sporting a 10-16 record. They are just 3-7 over their last 10 games. However, Miami fell to the Pistons in Detroit in their previous matchup following coach Erik Spoelstra’s late game blunder.

Spoelstra accidentally called a timeout prior to the final possession when they were out of timeouts, awarding the Pistons with technical free throws and the ball back. The unfortunate loss spoiled Tyler Herro’s 40-point masterpiece.

During the win streak, Herro has averaged 26.3 PPG on 38/63 from the field (60%) and 19/36 from 3-point range (53%), as he continues to make his All-Star case.

After the Heat’s most recent win over the Toronto Raptors, the Heat improved to 7-1 over their last eight home games and a perfect 6-0 in the new blood red jerseys. Additionally, their revamped starting lineup of Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith & Bam Adebayo have the highest net rating out of any first unit in the NBA, and are now 8-2 together.

Detroit is coming off a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, although Cade Cunningham has put up All-Star numbers of his own. The fourth-year guard is averaging a near triple-double with 23.6 points, 9.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game this season— all good for career-high’s.

Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):

Miami Heat:

• Nikola Jovic (ankle) OUT
• Pelle Larsson (ankle) OUT
• Josh Richardson (heel) OUT
• Josh Christopher (g-league) OUT

Detroit Pistons:

• Tobias Harris (thumb) — OUT
• Bobi Klintman (g-league) — OUT
• Daniss Jenkins (g-league) — OUT
• Alondes Williams (g-league) — OUT
• Cole Swider (g-league) OUT

Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):

Miami Heat:

• Tyler Herro, G
• Duncan Robinson, G
• Jimmy Butler, F
• Haywood Highsmith, F
• Bam Adebayo, C

Detroit Pistons:

• Cade Cunningham, G
• Jaden Ivey, G
• Tim Hardaway Jr, F/G
• Simon Fontecchio, F
• Isaiah Stewart, C

Broadcast Info:

• Tipoff: 7:00 PM EST
• TV: FanDuel Sports Network 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)

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