(Photo via Getty Images)
The Miami Heat will play their first group stage Emirates NBA Cup matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. They will return home to South Beach following a difficult 1-3 west coast road trip.
Miami is coming off a previous loss to the Denver Nuggets and are searching for a bounce back victory, but will have to do so without their All-Star big man Bam Adebayo. He left the game early in Denver with a foot injury, which was later diagnosed as a sprained left big toe. Luckily, the Heat and Adebayo avoided a longterm injury and he is day-to-day. The injury leaves wide open opportunities for second-year big Kel’el Ware, although the depth behind him is virtually non existent.
Vlad Goldin, the raw rookie 7-footer, was called up from the g-league in the wake of Adebayo’s injury. Goldin has not appeared in an NBA game yet in his career, but his size could be needed in the short term for insurance purposes considering the Heat’s extremely limited options.
Offensively, Norman Powell will have to do even more shouldering with now Tyler Herro and Adebayo sidelined together. Powell is coming off another 20+ point outing against the Nuggets, and the veteran guard has scored at least 20 points in four out of his five outings this season.
On the Hornets side, they could be dealing with a significant injury of their own— as LaMelo Ball is listed on the injury report as questionable with an ankle injury. He missed the Hornets’ previous game, and Charlotte would be without their 23/10/8 point guard again if Ball isn’t good to go tonight. Collin Sexton, listed as probable with a sore neck, would be expected to do most of their heavy lifting in the backcourt if Ball is sidelined.
The Heat recently defeated the Hornets in late October without Powell. Can Miami earn the bounce back victory without their captain?
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Vlad Goldin (g-league) — PROBABLE
- Tyler Herro (ankle) — OUT
- Bam Adebayo (toe) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
- Myron Gardner (g-league) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (g-league) — OUT
Charlotte Hornets:
- LaMelo Ball (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
- Collin Sexton (neck) — PROBABLE
- Josh Green (shoulder) — OUT
- Brandon Miller (shoulder) — OUT
- Grant Williams (knee) — OUT
- Drew Peterson (g-league) — OUT
- Antonio Reeves (g-league) — OUT
- Tidjane Salaun (g-league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Pelle Larsson, F
- Andrew Wiggins, F
- Kel’el Ware, C
Charlotte Hornets:
- LaMelo Ball, G
- Collin Sexton, G
- Miles Bridges, F
- Kon Knueppel, F
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 8:00 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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Go Heat! Ware 20-15-4-4 😜😆
Miami should win one or both of the next two games at home against Charlotte and a much improved Portland team. At 5-3, with wins over four of top teams in the west (OKC, Lakers, Golden State and Denver) the Blazers will not be a cakewalk.
After that, Miami has an absolutely brutal 13 games, including:
Miami is currently 4-4. If it can come out of the preceding meat grinder with at least an 11-10 overall record, there is hope the team may be able to finish in the top 6. If the team has an overall record significantly worse than 11-10, we may be looking at another mediocre play-in year or possibly a lottery year. If that happens, a decision will need to be made about potentially trading several players and pursuing a major retooling or a full rebuild. Time will tell.
Note: Tyler Herro may be back as soon as game #14 on November 17th at home against the Knicks.
Should get to see Vlad play important minutes tonight. I hope he can be as impactful as hfl thinks.