(Photo via Getty Images)
The Miami Heat are coming off a difficult three-game road trip in which they went 1-2. They have suffered back-to-back losses to the rival Boston Celtics and New York Knicks — without many answers in sight to snap out of this rough stretch.
For tonight, they will be back home to host another Eastern Conference playoff contender in the Toronto Raptors. Like the Heat, Toronto has also dropped in the standings from the beginning of the season. The Raptors have lost two in a row as well, and have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games.
However, Toronto beat the Heat just one week ago inside the Kaseya Center.
Miami has been a shell of the team that looked so encouraging in October and November. Their struggles have been on both sides of the court amid injuries, inconsistent rotations and what has looked like a disengaged roster as of late. The Heat have lost seven of their last eight games and will hope to avoid falling to an even 15-15 .500 record on the season.
The silver lining recently has been the re-emergence of Kel’el Ware, who is coming off a dominant 20 points and 19 rebounds double-double in the Knicks loss on Sunday. The expectation is that Ware will remain a starter again moving forward, as his performances have been the lone bright side over this past week.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Toronto Raptors:
- RJ Barrett (knee) — OUT
- Jakob Poeltl (back) — OUT
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro (toe) — OUT
- Nikola Jovic (elbow) — OUT
- Pelle Larsson (ankle) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (g-league) — DOUBTFUL
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Toronto Raptors:
- Immanuel Quickley, G
- Ochai Agbaji, G
- Brandon Ingram, F
- Scottie Barnes, F
- Gradey Dick, C
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Andrew Wiggins, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
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)
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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Merry Christmas.
Since Dec 18, this is where Kel’el Ware ranks in the entire league:
– 45 REB (1st in NBA)
– 31 DREB (1st in NBA)
– 173.2 ORTG (2nd in NBA)
– 14 OREB (2nd in NBA)
– 12 3PM (4th in NBA)
– 27 FGM (4th in NBA)
– 74 PTS (5th in NBA)
*In addition, for the season, Ware is shooting 3 pointers at a 48% clip, third highest in the NBA.
Who thinks Ware isn’t good enough to be a starter?
bams jealous
mr maxy never put the time in to try to become like ware.hes just happy with his 19 9 line i think if he really wanted it like a lebron james does he could have been a 25 12 guy.that mindset sometimes separates the good ones from the great ones
I’m not so sure about that. I think he is who he is, a solid 19 and 9 player who is also a solid defender. A good #3 option. Got paid what any team would give him in today’s NBA. Ware can be a #1 or #2 player and the Heat will have to give him a max down the road if he keeps playing like this.
I think he realizes if one of them will be traded for a ss such as Giannis, it’s going to be him, not Ware.
I think we are going to win this one. The injury list for both teams these days so often plays a big part in how an NBA team does. Go Heat!
Its a must win.
At this point, none of them are must wins.