The Miami Heat opened their season by splitting two games on the road. Now they will head back home to South Florida to host the East contending New York Knicks, in what will be their toughest matchup yet.
The Knicks are 2-0 already on the season, and have done so with key pieces of their roster suffering injuries to begin the year. Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns is on the injury report as questionable. Josh Hart has also been dealing with finger and back injuries, as their 7-footer Mitchell Robinson is listed as out. Even with several Knicks players banged up, they are still wide regarded as one of, if not the the best team in the Eastern Conference this season.
Jalen Brunson will serve as a focal point to New York’s offense tonight, with Davion Mitchell likely to have his hands full with that defensive assignment— although more than capable to hold his own. Brunson is averaging 27 points and 5 assists on 40% shooting between two games this year.
Miami will look to build on their dominant blowout victory in Memphis on Friday night. The Heat offense was clicking on all cylinders, highlighted by Bam Adebayo’s team-high 24 points and eight players scoring in double-digits. Kel’el Ware has also been inserted into the starting lineup, and the talented Heat big impressed in his opportunity— posting 19 points and 9 boards on 8/12 shooting.
New York has beaten the Heat in three straight regular season games. Additionally, they have won six of the last nine matchups against Miami. For the Heat to pull off their upset on Sunday evening, they will undoubtedly have to carry over that fast paced and efficent offense from their previous game.
Tonight’s game will tip-off at 6:00 PM EST on FanDuel Sports Sun!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro (foot) — OUT
- Kasparas Jakucionis (groin) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
New York Knicks:
- Miles McBride (personal) — QUESTIONABLE
- Josh Hart (back) — PROBABLE
- Karl-Anthony Towns (quad) — QUESTIONABLE
- Mitchell Robinson (ankle) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Andrew Wiggins, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
New York Knicks:
- Jalen Brunson, G
- Miles McBride, G
- Mikal Bridges, F
- OG Anunoby, F
- Karl-Anthony Towns, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 6:00 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)
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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I know we’d all like to get a win. Me too. But, more importantly to me, is can the new look Heat go toe to toe with the stinkin’ Knicks for 4 quarters.
hart mrob out not sure kats status
Kat would make a huge difference. I’d really like to see how Ware would do against him. Ware could guard him inside and Bam outside. As for their guys who may be out? I don’t feel sorry for them and they don’t feel sorry for us.
Hart is a good player but only if KAT is out are they limited. Otherwise, they are still amongst the leagues best. If we beat them, it will be impressive.
This will be a strong test. And no excuses that the Knicks are nicked up because their injury list is pretty minor. If we beat them it will say a lot.
Heat generally play better on the road than at home in past years. I hope this will change too this year.