Game story:
Coming off two straight wins to a pair of bottom seeded teams, the Miami Heat face a big test welcoming the New York Knicks to the Kaseya Center tonight. Miami beat both the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards by double digits recently, including a 60-point blowout against Portland. The Heat have improved to 41-33 following those wins and are just a game out of the sixth seed.
This matchup is huge not only for playoff seeding, but because it is against a rival Eastern Conference contender in the Knicks. Jalen Brunson is fresh off a 61-point performance the other night in San Antonio and New York has won 7 of their last 10 games. However, they will be missing two key guys in Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, who are still sidelined.
Miami is winless against the Knicks during this regular season; currently 0-2 and hoping to avoid a season sweep. This comes after the Heat took them down in the last playoffs in six games.
The Heat are slowly but surely starting to get more healthy, with Tyler Herro being the lone man listed as out on their injury report. His return is hopefully coming at least a few games before the start of postseason. After this evening, there are only seven games left, with Herro currently missing the last 19 games after being scratched tonight again.
The good news for the Heat during this extended Herro absence has been how comfortable Terry Rozier has looked. Rozier is coming off a 27-point outing on 58% shooting, which included hitting five 3-pointers against the Wizards. He had a +\- of 20; one of the game-highs across both teams.
It took some time to adjust, but the Rozier that fans expected when he was traded here has arrived. He gives such a boost offensively and at his best he complements Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo very well. Having an extra playmaker of Rozier’s caliber, especially with Herro’s injury concerns, is what this Heat team has desperately missed all of the Butler era.
Let’s see if Rozier and the Heat can keep it going and start a three-game win streak. Tip off is set for 7:30 PM EST on Bally Sports Florida.
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Nikola Jovic (knee) — PROBABLE
- Terry Rozier (knee) – PROBABLE
- Caleb Martin (ankle) — PROBABLE
- Duncan Robinson (back) — PROBABLE
- Tyler Herro (foot) — OUT
- Josh Richardson (surgery) — OUT
New York Knicks:
- Mitchell Robinson (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
- OG Anunoby (elbow) — OUT
- Julius Randle (shoulder) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Terry Rozier, G
- Duncan Robinson, G
- Jimmy Butler, F
- Nikola Jovic, F
- Bam Adebayo, C
New York Knicks:
- Miles McBride, G
- Jalen Brunson, G
- Donte DiVincenzo, F
- Josh Hart, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Betting Lines:
- Check the current odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
- TV: Bally Sports 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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Time for KLove to get his backup C job back.
I like the way Bryant is playing right now but a bench lineup with him Delon, Caleb, HH and Jaime would likely have trouble generating points against good defenses because there’s just not enough spacing in that unit.
maybe but another team would def have a hard time scoring.klove bryant same size 2 diff type players.ill take kloves versatility and savvy