After what has been the roughest stretch of Miami Heat basketball lately, they have recently shown some signs of life. After losing six of seven games, now the team has bounced back to secure two consecutive wins.
However, they will face a legitimate test on Sunday evening when they host the visiting New York Knicks. Their revamped, and slightly stacked starting lineup, has led to a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks have won seven of their last 10 matchups and are coming off a 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in their previous game. New York is led by an All-Star caliber duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Additionally, that pairing is supplemented by an elite cast around them headlined by Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
As for Miami, they are likely to be without the services of both Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr., due to ankle injuries. They are viewed as day-to-day moving forward.
The Heat have already been dealt with a longer term blow of losing Nikola Jovic. And it appears more of their rotation will have to remain fluid with changes because of Wiggins and Jaquez.
Haywood Highsmith, who has been a once again rising rotation piece lately, should be a prime candidate to slot in with the rest of the Heat starters.
Can Miami earn their third straight win for the first time with this new-look roster against an East contender? Let us know in the comments!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Josh Christopher (G-League) — OUT
- Keshad Johnson (G-League) — OUT
- Nikola Jovic (hand) — OUT
- Dru Smith (achilles) — OUT
- Isaiah Stevens (G-League) — OUT
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle) — DOUBTFUL
- Andrew Wiggins (ankle) — DOUBTFUL
New York Knicks:
- Josh Hart (knee) — PROBABLE
- Mitchell Robinson (ankle) — PROBABLE
- Ariel Hukporti (knee) — OUT
- Jacob Toppin (g-league) — OUT
- Kevin McCullar Jr. (g-league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Tyler Herro, G
- Haywood Highsmith, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
New York Knicks:
- Jalen Brunson, G
- Mikal Bridges, G
- Josh Hart, G/F
- OG Anunoby, F
- Karl-Anthony Towns, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 6:00 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)
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I wish Wiggins was playing as we would probably have a fifty fifty shot if he was back. The Knicks are healthy, even having Robinson, so this will be a very difficult matchup for us. Looking for good games from Burks, HH, and Rozier, need them all to contribute to have a shot. And the Duncdog has to be on.
Still, even though it’s hard to see us winning without Wiggins, I do think it will be a close game.
Miami will need to rely on it’s tough defense to stay in the game. With Wiggins and Jaquez out, Herro, Bam and Robinson, will all need to score 20+ points and at least three of the remaining rotation players (Ware, Highsmith, Mitchell, Anderson, Rozier and Burks) will need to score at least 10. Again, the only way they can win is if they play their best defense. If they do find a way to win, they will have a chance to go above .500 (at 31-30) after their next two games against Chicago and Charlotte. They then face several tough teams after that.
Circle your calendars. The Golden State Warriors are in town on March 25th. Don’t miss it. The team will be giving away free posters to celebrate Jimmy Butler’s return to Miami. Be there.
