Miami defeated the Hawks last game on Saturday night, 117-109.
Game Story:
The 34-31 Miami Heat are set to host a rematch with the 32-32 Atlanta Hawks. Miami just defeated this same Hawks team on Saturday night, but only 1.5 games separate the two teams in the standings with Miami sitting at the 7th seed and Hawks right behind them in 8th place. To avoid the play-in game, Miami needs to string together some wins and bounce back from their rough start post all-star break as they trail the 6th seed Nets by 2.5 games.
Miami did a great job at containing the superstar backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray on Saturday and look to replicate that success tonight. They were both held to a combined 18 points on 5/27 shooting. Young had a season low 8 points and the Hawks are 2-15 all time in 17 career games that Young has been held to under 10 points. The formula to beating this team is statistically there, and the Heat need to get at it on the defensive end right off the bat.
When the defense is locked in, good things tend to naturally happen on the offensive end. Bam Adebayo is coming off a masterclass 30+ point and 10+ rebound double double the other night. Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler were also solid to go along with Caleb Martin and Cody Zeller having some good moments off the bench. Martin guarding Trae Young has proved to be a tough task to overcome for the all-star PG, and Martin is at his best when his length is utilized by defending smaller players.
As for the injury report, it remains relatively small. Omer Yurtseven is back from his g-league work and ready to make his season debut tonight. It will be interesting to see when or if Yursteven gets back up big minutes over Cody Zeller. Jamal Cain is also rejoining the team from the g-league. Kyle Lowry remains out indefinitely.
Tonight’s game will be nationally televised on NBA TV.
Injury Report:
Heat
- Kevin Love, probable
- Omer Yurtseven, probable
- Jamal Cain, probable
- Kyle Lowry, out
- Nikola Jovic, out
Hawks
- Trent Forrest, out
- Tyrese Martin, out
- Donovan Williams, out
Probable Starters:
Heat
- Jimmy Butler
- Kevin Love
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Gabe Vincent
Hawks
- De’ Andre Hunter
- John Collins
- Clint Capela
- Dejounte Murray
- Trae Young
ODDS (via FanDuel)
Check the odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
TV: NBA 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)
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