Coming off a blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat return home to face Luka Doncic, LeBron James and the surging Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night inside Kaseya Center. Tip-off will be at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Miami felt the absence of Bam Adebayo in Tuesday’s loss, with the three-time All-Star missing the game with right calf tightness. Led by none other than LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel, the Hornets demolished the Heat, 136-106, behind a dominant second half, where the Heat were outscored 77-49 in the second half.
As a result, Miami dropped to 0-2 since the return of both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell — and 5-9 on the season. A W-L record, on the surface, isn’t quite indicative of a lineup’s success — or lack thereof. But it’s becoming quite clear the Heat’s two most recent All-Stars can’t co-exist together, especially when they’re missing one of the NBA’s best defenders in Adebayo.
Los Angeles is coming off back-to-back wins over the Houston Rockets, the first two games of a lengthy six-game road trip. The Lakers have found serious life over the last three weeks, going 10-1 over its last 11 with the fifth-best offense and eighth-best defense over that span. They will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a late tip-off in Houston; Los Angeles in 6-5 in such games this season.
Meanwhile, the Heat are just 6-7 in games with a rest advantage this season. Can they get back to .500 and avoid a third-straight defeat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Los Angeles Lakers:
NOT SUBMITTED AT TIME OF PUBLISHING
Miami Heat:
- Andrew Wiggins (toe) — OUT
- Bam Adebayo (calf) — PROBABLE
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (hip) — QUESTIONABLE
- Keshad Johnson (G-League) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (G-League) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
- Trevor Keels (G-League) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Los Angeles Lakers:
- Luka Doncic, G
- Austin Reaves, G
- Marcus Smart, G
- LeBron James, F
- Deandre Ayton, C
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Tyler Herro, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Pelle Larsson, F
- Bam Adebayo, 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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Herro’s last two and a half games :
12 of 37, 4 of 15 from 3, 7 turnovers.
Add in typical awful defense, and not a shock we’ve lost 2 in a row, and our lead has disappeared tonight.
He does have 20 rebounds in that stretch, so that’s something.
So 50 wins not possibe anymore? But 6th seed still is….go Heat!
After losing the last 2 games, this is now a must win game. Lose a 3rd game in a row and all the ‘we can win the east’ folks may be heading for the exits.
Jaquez. has been ruled out due to a hip issue. Maybe Spo should throw Jovic in there and let him sink or swim.
Jovic ftw lol
Why in TF is Johnson being sent back down to G League (after having a good game) while Jovic is still sitting at the end of the bench scratching his b***s and getting paid for doing nothing?
Jovic should have been sent to G League weeks/months ago. Maybe by now he would have his head and game together. Instead, he is sitting there getting down on himself, sulking and sinking further into self-pity, by the day. His self-confidence must be totally in the toilet, about a 0 on a 1-10 range.
Sometimes in life, a person has to be broken down before they can be built back up. Sometimes, rock bottom is the foundation a person uses to rebuild his/her life. Jovic is experiencing what we Americans call an “attitude adjustment.”
Maybe this hard lesson is exactly what Jovic needed in order to appreciate the gift he has been given (a $62.4M contract) rather than feeling entitled and cocky about it. I don’t blame Jovic for accepting the 4 year extension. I blame Riley for “gifting” it to him before he had earned it.
Well, I believe his injury was quite serious. If you noticed, he didn’t play garbage minutes against Charlotte, which were ideal for come back. Serious injury also (sort of) explain his poor performance (including terrible shooting, even from free throws and avoiding contact).
I hope that was that and he ll show something positive in the future.
I don’t understand sending KJ to G league either. He could help right now.
The Keshad notation may be an error. The SS specifically mentions the 3 2-way players, but not Keshad. As for Jovic, if he makes mistakes but is aggressive doing so, I don’t have a problem with that. Being passive is not an option for him.
It’s either we get a w or 3 game losing streak
Need this one.
Yes sir we really do
2 best players in nba are ics.and our ic jeez
What means this ic you speak of?
yo hablo mr lukavic and mr jokervic no me gusto shnozic