Miami looking to continue their recent success as they have won 7 of their last 10 games
Game Story:
The Miami Heat will be hosting the Orlando Magic tonight inside Miami-Dade Arena. The Heat are now sporting a 27-22 record as the Magic are sitting at 19-29. Miami are winners of back to back games and have won 7 of their last 10. Orlando has also won 2 in a row, and are coming off wins against East contenders in both the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.
The team records shouldn’t be looked into too much in this matchup. Yes, the Magic are sitting at 13th place in the East and have struggled. However, this is a young team with plenty of energy and guys capable of pulling off upset wins. Something that has been proven with Miami’s up and down season so far is that no win should ever be slated as an easy win.
Jimmy Butler sat out the last game vs Boston with back stiffness but will be back in the line up tonight. Everyone else in the regular rotation should be available as well, something that has been a good sight for Miami as of late. The Magic are a young team and will be pushing the pace. The Heat need to match that energy and pace right off the bat.
Two players to look out for on Miami’s side is Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Adebayo will be trying to continue his recent emergence and solidify his all-star case. Herro has struggled shooting the ball since returning from injury a couple weeks ago, so look for him to get in a rhythm and bounce back. He needs to look to be more efficient in his shot attempts.
For the Magic, Miami will need to slow down the young guns of Paolo Banchero and Franks Wagner. Two players that can fill up the stat sheet and leave their imprints on the game.
Injury Report:
Heat
- Haywood Highsmith, probable
- Caleb Martin, probable
- Max Strus, probable
- Nikola Jovic, out
- Duncan Robinson, out
- Omer Yurtseven, out
Magic
- R.J Hampton, out
- Jonathon Isaac, out
- Kevon Harris, out
- Caleb Houstan, out
- Chuma Okeke, out
Probable Starters:
Heat
- Jimmy Butler
- Caleb Martin
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Kyle Lowry
Magic
- Paolo Banchero
- Franz Wagner
- Wendell Carter, Jr.
- Markelle Fultz
- Gary Harris
ODDS (via FanDuel)
Check the odds out at FanDuel!
Broadcast Info:
Tipoff: 8:00 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!