After winning three-straight for the first time in two-and-a-half months, the Miami Heat hit the road to begin a three-game road trip Saturday, starting with the Philadelphia 76ers inside Wells Fargo Center.
The Heat endured their first 10-game losing streak in nearly two decades, but have since bounced back with three-straight victories over the Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, respectively.
While the Heat kept blowing double-digit leads, a big reason for their new winning streak has been their 3-point shooting. They were the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA during their losing streak–and they’ve been one of the league’s best over this small sample. In a make-or-miss sport, sometimes, that’s all that boils down to!
The 76ers, who are officially eliminated from postseason contention with a loss Saturday, are losers of six straight and nine of their last 10. They have shut down Paul George (groin) and Joel Embiid (knee) down for the season over the last month while also having been without Tyrese Maxey since early March with a finger sprain.
It’s been a rough go for the 76ers, who are attempting to keep their top-6 protected pick. They are currently 6th in lottery odds, a 0.5 game behind the Brooklyn Nets for No. 5. For comparison, the Heat are 10th, a 0.5 game behind both the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.
Miami bested Philadelphia in both of their previous matchups by 17 and seven points, respectively. Can they secure the season-series Saturday?
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Alec Burks (back) — QUESTIONABLE
- Nikola Jovic (hand) — OUT
- Dru Smith (achilles) — OUT
- Josh Christopher (G-League) — QUESTIONABLE
- Keshad Johnson (G-League) — QUESTIONABLE
- Kevin Love (personal) — OUT
- Duncan Robinson (back) — OUT
- Isaiah Stevens (G-League) — QUESTIONABLE
- Andrew Wiggins (hamstring) — OUT
Philadelphia 76ers:
- Jeff Dowtin Jr. (G-League) — OUT
- Andre Drummond (toe) — OUT
- Joel Embiid (knee) — OUT
- Paul George (groin) — OUT
- Eric Gordon (wrist) — OUT
- Jalen Hood-Schifino (illness) — QUESTIONABLE
- Kyle Lowry (hip) — OUT
- Tyrese Maxey (finger) — OUT
- Jared McCain (knee) — OUT
- Kelly Oubre (knee) — OUT
- Lonnie Walker (neck) — PROBABLE
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro, G
- Alec Burks, G
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
Philadelphia 76ers:
- Jared Butler, G
- Quentin Grimes, G
- Justin Edwards, F
- Ricky Council IV, F
- Guerschon Yabusele, F
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:30 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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I have been traveling so I missed the past couple weeks, but it looks like the win against Jimmy and the Warriors might have turned the season around?
Absolutely. In a strange way, it’s almost as though everything finally clicked the way it clicked with Golden State after Butler’s arrival.
There are several contributing factors including, but not limited to:
I’m sure there are other factors I have forgotten, but I think those are the main ones.
Talk about a bunch of tankers. You almost will not see a longer injury list than Philly’s.
I think Iverson is coming off the bench tonight.
We talkin bout practice? We ain’t even talkin bout the game. We talkin bout practice. Don’t forget Dr. J.
Interesting article on Butler’s return to Miami.
Bam Adebayo’s gets honest after not speaking with Jimmy Butler in Heat return game
…”Looking at Adebayo specifically with Butler, there were fans wondering how the two would interact with one another besides the actual game. However, there was no sign of the two talking, even when both were warming up on opposite ends of the court with around two hours before tip-off.
Even before the game, there were no signs of communication and after the game was over, Butler went straight to the locker room. When Adebayo was asked about the lack of a reunion, Adebayo would say that he was “not shocked” and that he does not “take it personal” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.”…
https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/bam_adebayos_gets_honest_after_not_speaking_with_jimmy_butler_in_heat_return_game/s1_17113_41971195
On another subject, it looks like re-signing Mitchell may get a little complicated.
Mitchell is eligible for a $7.9 million qualifying offer this summer. If the Heat extend a qualifying offer, they would have the right to match any outside offers he receives. If Mitchell accepts Miami’s qualifying offer, he would play out the season on a one-year deal at that value. The Heat could also work with Mitchell on a longer-term contract.
The Heat could also opt not to extend the qualifying offer and instead attempt to re-sign Mitchell as an unrestricted free agent. At that point, the Heat would have his Bird rights and could offer any contract between the veteran minimum and maximum.
If Mitchell starts in five of Miami’s final nine games, that would trigger the league’s starter criteria and increase his qualifying offer from $7.9 million to $8.7 million. If he plays at least 2,000 minutes in the season before he reaches free agency that would also trigger the higher qualifying offer. He should pass that in the next 9 games.
In his first three years with Sacramento, Mitchell played 75, 80 and 72 games (75.5 average). This year, with Toronto and Miami, he has played a total of 65 games and is on target for 75. He is consistently available, a big plus with Riley as evidenced by the Butler situation. At 26, he fits perfectly in the timeline with Bam (27) and Herro (25).
All things considered, Riley should approach Mitchell as soon as he is allowed this summer with a 4 year/$40M guaranteed contract and hope he takes it. He may be able to get a couple more million elsewhere, but I don’t think he will find a better fit than he has in Miami. This is not the time for Riley to be pinching pennies!
That’s a lot for a backup point guard. 21M for three years seems more reasonable to me.
Don’t forget he was on decline in Toronto, maybe on his way out of the league. I doubt he can get more somewhere else .
His qualifying offer will likely be $8.7M (based on games and minutes played), which I am sure other teams will be happy to pay. I can think of several teams that would love to have him. A few might even want him as a starter.
The 25th lowest paid point guard in the NBA is Collin Sexton at $17.74. The 21st – #24th lowest paid are: D’Angelo Russell $18m, Lonzo Ball $20M, Malcolm Brogdon $22.5 and Terry Rozier $24.06. Hell, even Gabe Vincent makes $11M this year and will make $11.5 next year. At $10M, Mitchell is a bargain.
Mitchell’s trajectory has been on the upswing since he got to Miami. Remember, there were several smaller NBA point guards who didn’t blossom until a few years into their careers. I can think of three off the top of head: Brunson, VanVleet and Lowry. Unless a team overpays to get him, Riley should be fired if he let’s him get away in order to save a couple of million bucks a year.
What is your option if Riley lowballs him as you suggest, he is insulted and decides to accept an offer elsewhere in the $10M range?
Take your time with your response. I’ll be here all day.
That’s a “killer” line-up for Philly. No way to “out tank” that.
We could even things up by instructing all of our players to run backwards up and down the court.
Does Love have the best job in the world? What’s this personal reasons thing mean?
Seriously this needs to be his last year on this team. Has brought absolutely nothing since he was brought out years ago
Well I could understand when they signed him, but I couldn’t understand why they extended him for 2 more years! It has got to be some curse or something, first we had UD as a non playable mentoring figure for several years, now we have KLove. I don’t get it. If they think this team needs to have someone like that, why not make them part of our coaching staff. K Love makes 4 million this season.
$3.85M this year and $4.15M next year. I wonder if they can agree on a buyout and a coaching position for 2025-2026? Every dollar saved can be used elsewhere.
I’m sure Dragic would have been happy to stay as a player/coach for that amount if they had asked him.
Wasted roster space taking away from someone who most on this board would love to see more of Keshad
Keshad is already on the team’s 15 man NBA roster. Having him in G League and not with the team is Spo’s choice. Love isn’t taking Johnson’s minutes. He’s not taking anyone’s minutes.