In a game where the Miami Heat looked a step slow defensively, especially in the interior, they dropped their last game against the Atlanta Hawks. The loss snapped their mini two-game win streak, instead picking up their fourth loss in six games. They dropped to 15-14 on the season and are back in the Play-In tier of the Eastern Conference standings at the seventh seed.
Today, Miami will aim to bounce back and finish their road trip on a high night. They will face the West’s third seed and rising Houston Rockets. The Heat are 9-1 in their last 10 games against them, but the emerging young core in Houston has seen impressive improvement in the state of their roster this season.
The Rockets have been led by their big man Alperen Sengun, who is coming off a double-double outing of 38 points and 12 rebounds in a loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves the other night. Fred VanVleet has also added some fire power to their backcourt, who added 18 points in the Timberwolves game. Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Ausar Thompson headline a trio of their young stars.
Tyler Herro is coming off a near triple-double performance last night in Atlanta, finishing with 28 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. The Heat star put together the highest scoring game of his career in Houston in December of the 2022-23 season.
The Heat didn’t get much notable help offensively last night, outside of Bam Adebayo’s 17 points and 10 rebounds and a second half surge from Duncan Robinson. However, Robinson was a late scratch heading into tonight’s Rockets game due to right foot inflammation.
It will be interesting to see if coach Erik Spoelstra circles back to Terry Rozier to start alongside Herro in the backcourt in Robinson’s absence. Rozier has been in a sixth man’s role for a while now, but there are limited options available. Expect Alec Burks to continue getting more run off the Heat’s bench in the guard depth chart.
Jimmy Butler is still listed as out, but the expectation for his January 1 return remains the case.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Nikola Jovic (ankle) — PROBABLE
- Duncan Robinson (foot) — OUT
- Jimmy Butler (reconditioning) — OUT
- Josh Richardson (heel) — OUT
- Dru Smith (achilles) — OUT
Houston Rockets:
- Dillon Brooks (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
- Tari Eason (leg) — QUESTIONABLE
- N’Faly Dante (g-league) — OUT
- Jack McVeigh (g-league) — OUT
- Nate Williams (g-league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro, G
- Duncan Robinson, G
- Jaime Jaquez Jr, F
- Haywood Highsmith, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
Houston Rockets:
- Fred VanVleet, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Ausar Thompson, F
- Jabari Smith Jr, F
- Alperen Sengun, 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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Too bad Jimmy isn’t available. He could have auditioned for his hometown team today. Oh well. It is what it is.
I hope he gets over his IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome) or whatever is ailing him soon, since after Houston the Heat plays 7 lottery and play-in teams over the next couple of weeks. It would sure help his trade value if is able to play and performs well.
I hope Ware, Johnson and Stevens get some playing time today cuz the crap I saw yesterday ain’t working.
If the season ended today, the Heat would face the Pacers and the Bulls would face the Pistons for the rights to play the Cavaliers and Celtics in the first round.
With dunc out I would give a pinch start to Stevens or burks.
Ausar Thompson plays for Pistons. His twin brother, Amen, plays for Rockets.
This is a team that is healthy and has been playing well. The trends suggest that the Rockets will give us everything we can handle….but will it be… and then some.