Two nights after witnessing history, the Miami Heat look to secure their seventh-straight win Thursday night, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks inside Kaseya Center at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game will forever live in basketball lore no matter how many people try to discredit or claim it’s “unethical.” Though what got lost in the sauce was that the Heat moved out of the play-in as a result of their 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. They enter Thursday’s game as the No. 6 seed in the East, a 0.5 game back of the Orlando Magic — who leapfrogged them with a recent win over Cleveland — and a 0.5 game ahead of Toronto.
The last time these two teams met, a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks ousted the Heat by 11 — 128-117 — inside Fiserv Forum. Since then, Miami is 6-1 with pivotal wins over Charlotte and Detroit, playing some of its best basketball of the season, albeit without a few key players.
Heat were without Powell, Herro, Wiggins and Kel’el Ware for Adebayo’s historic night. They are expected to be without both Wiggins and Powell once again, though Ware and Herro are both questionable with shoulder and quad injuries, respectively.
Can Miami extend its win streak?! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Milwaukee Bucks:
- Kevin Porter Jr. (knee)
- Bobby Portis (back)
- Jericho Sims (patella)
Miami Heat:
- Andrew Wiggins (toe) — OUT
- Norman Powell (groin) — OUT
- Tyler Herro (quad) — QUESTIONABLE
- Nikola Jovic (back) — OUT
- Kel’el Ware (shoulder) — QUESTIONABLE
- Keshad Johnson (G-League) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (G-League) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Milwaukee Bucks:
- Ryan Rollins, G
- A.J. Green, G
- Ousmane Dieng, F
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, F
- Myles Turner, C
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Kasparas Jakucionis, G
- Pelle Larsson, F
- Myron Gardner, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/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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Can Miami break down MIL interior defense? Last game vs MIL thought Miami settled for too many 3s (they took 48 that game, they average 37 per game). And can they stop Rollins and KPJ who combined for 53 the last meeting
I think Portis is out so it should help interior defense and offense if Ware plays. Hopefully, Larsson and Gardner can contain Rollins and Porter.
Portis 46% from 3 this year, wow. Would definitely help if he’s not out there.
Ironically I think this game comes down to more Bam interior scoring (or Herro if available). Milwaukee will give up plenty of open 3s but they need to be rhythm shots from Miami and not just moving the ball around the perimeter before shooting late in the shot clock.
Hard game to get a read on even though Miami is favored by 6.5. Could see a loss or a blowout win. MIL has talent but their season is basically over, they are 5.5 games out of 10th
Another excellent article in allucanheat.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is one fix away from blossoming into Heat’s next starShooting with confidence can turn the tide.
…”While the Heat have turned it on lately, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is quietly one of the Heat’s best players and has been consistently all season long. He’s scored double digits in eight of his last 11 games and is shooting 50% from the floor this year, which is a career-best for him. His offensive efficiency has improved drastically.
In fact, Jaquez is enjoying career-best numbers in a few box score categories, and it’s proving the Heat right when they decided to draft and develop Jaquez, because it’s clearly working. That said, one element of Jaquez’s game could be more efficient, and if it were, he could instantly become a 20-point scorer in the NBA…
…”Evidently, his long-range shooting needs significant work. Of course, Jaquez is well aware of this and admits he focuses on confidence and consistency when shooting from beyond the arc. Over the past five games, Jaquez has gone 8 for 13 from three — a much better percentage compared to the previous four games, going 2 for 10.
After the Heat picked up a win over the Charlotte Hornets last week, Jaquez’s three-point stat line looked the best it had in weeks prior, 4-6.”
…”He’s averaging 15.3 points per game this season. If Jaquez were knocking down his threes with more consistency, he would average over 20 points. The Heat have something valuable in Jaquez, and in another season or two, he could be one of their leading scorers, without question; he’s already that good.”
Excerpt from hoopshabit.com article entitled:
Bam Adebayo’s historic game is just the beginning of something bigger for HeatIt has certified his elite status.
Bam Adebayo has put the entire league on notice
…”For years, Adebayo played second fiddle to Butler. Jimmy got all the spotlight just by the nature of his game and his personality. Bam’s 83-point game is the moment he needed to show his team that they don’t need a new superstar. They already have one, and his name is Bam Adebayo.
Bam’s massive game was a warning to every team in the league that the superstar version of Adebayo has arrived. This is a man who is prepared to take full control of the Heat and lead them to their first title since LeBron James switched coasts.
That doesn’t mean Adebayo is expected to drop 80+ points per night, though it would be pretty cool if he did. Wilt Chamberlain is the only person ahead of Bam on that list, and Bam had to beat Kobe Bryant’s record to get there. Such elite company proves Adebayo has found that next gear.
No one is suggesting that the Heat are going to win a title this season. It’s not out of the question since they’re sixth in the Eastern Conference. This was a statement game, both for Adebayo and Miami. The league needs to take them seriously because Bam is coming for what’s his.”
Excellent article this morning in allucanheat.
Bam Adebayo unknowingly sent the NBA a reality check it desperately neededTearing down Bam Adebayo is not the move.
Here’s a few quotes:
“Scoring 83 points is an achievement in its own right for any NBA player, but what makes Bam Adebayo’s historic night even more special is the fact that he’s largely a team-first player who doesn’t generally look to score in an aggressive manner.
As Rich Paul states, it’s part of the reason why its just so unbelievable that Bam was able to pull off such a feat. It’s another reason why it should largely be respected.”…
“The Bam Adebayo backlash is bad for the league as a whole
It’s a bad look for the league, and one that they should be fighting against, and not necessarily propping up. Looking back at this season, the biggest story in the regular season (at least) will be media and fans tearing down Bam after a once-in-a-lifetime individual accomplishment…”
The joint should be hoppin tonight. I hope Herro and Ware are able to play. It will be difficult enough to win with them if Gianni is back in the Bucks line-up.
It is one of those “must win ” games for Miami if it hopes to clinch a playoff spot. Another opportunity for the Heat’s younger players and veteran Fontecchio to step it up.
There will be joy in Mudville tonight before the game. Let’s hope it is still there after the game is over.
GO HEAT!!!
I agree that it is another must win game. It is also the second of my ‘no excuses’ games. The Bucks may be playing for pride tonight, but we are playing for something far more important. This game is the 4th of the 11 I am focused on, starting with the Charlotte game. The remaining 7 are:
Orlando – must win
Charlotte – should win
Lakers – we can beat them, but not critical
Rockets – not exactly a must win, but we don’t want to lose 4 out of these last 5.
Spurs – likely a loss
Cavs back to back. Must win one
We are 3-0 so far in these 11. If we can split the remaining 8, we’d be 7-4 in this stretch and probably in control of 6th. It would be much nicer to go 5-3, leaving us at 8-3 for the 11, and 42-32 for the season. That might have us in 5th with 8 games left after that, including a crucial back to back against Toronto.
I agree with your logic. It will mostly depend on how the other teams do down the stretch. Toronto and Philadelphia appear to be fading. Charlotte and Atlanta, like Miami, are both 8-2 in the past 10 games. I have a feeling our biggest competitor will be Orlando (7-3 last 10 games), especially if Franz Wagner returns soon from injury. The Heat plays the Magic in a critical game on Saturday. Miami is 0-4 vs Orlando this season.
On a different subject…The Los Angeles Lakers plan to offer 27 year old Austin Reaves a five-year, $240 million contract this offseason once unrestricted free agency begins, sources told Lakers Daily.
Reaves is putting up the following numbers this season:
23.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 5.5 APG, 49.5% FG, 37.5% 3 PT, 87.3% FT
Herro is putting up the following numbers this season:
22.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.7 APG, 50.0% FG, 39.0% 3PT, 82.7% FT
Herro’s stats last year were:
23.9 PPG, 5,2 RPG, 5.5 APG, 47.2% FG, 37.5 3PT%, 87.8% FT
If Reaves (an undrafted player) is worth $48M per year for 5 years, what does that mean Herro is worth?
Powell can probably be signed for 3 years/$90M and Wiggins about the same.
I would say that Herro is worth around 40 per year.
If Reaves gets $48M per year Herro will want at least $45M
That was 2015’s argument and it is valid. All of the logic fits nicely. For me, knowing Herro’s availability issues, his defensive deficiencies, and how much cap space that would eat up and for how long, I would not be in favor of it . I would take the Missouri show me approach. I would say let’s revisit the issue in the final year of the contract and we need to see you on the court more of the time. That was essentially what they told Butler and, respectfully, Herro is not the player Butler was.
I like the new confidence the guys are playing with, even when veteran starters are injured. It makes more sense to me to re-sign both Wiggins and Powell for 2-3 years at $30M each and trade Herro to the highest bidder for young player(s) with potential and first round pick(s).
With the depth the team has and will be drafting this summer, that would keep the Heat’s payroll down as it develops its younger players. Meanwhile, if a whale becomes available in 2026-2027, Miami will have the assets (players and draft picks) to facilitate a trade.
A must win but gets harder the longer we have that much talent dressed in street clothes.
I agree. We need to be at full strength for this final stretch. Hopefully, Powell and Wiggins will be back soon.