The Miami Heat are back home after a six-game road trip and are hoping to start a new winning streak when they take on the struggling Utah Jazz.
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The Miami Heat are back home after a six-game road trip and are hoping to start a new winning streak when they take on the struggling Utah Jazz. Miami’s long road trip, which was split by the All-Star break, ended with a 103-97 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. This defeat ended a five-game winning streak and prevented the Heat from having a perfect road trip.
Even though they lost, Bam Adebayo mentioned that fighting back from a 16-point deficit in the first quarter could be a good thing for Miami moving forward. Miami had a tough time shooting against Denver, making just 42.2 percent of their shots from the floor, including 26.9 percent from beyond the arc. This led to their first game with less than 100 points since February 4th.
Even though the Heat rank 27th in the NBA in scoring offense (averaging 110.4 points per game) as of Friday, they make up for it by having the third-best defense in the league, allowing just 109.9 points per game.
For the Heat, Love (heel injury), Richardson (shoulder injury), and Smith (knee injury) will not be playing the game. Besides, Herro (knee injury) is also questionable. As for the Jazz, Porter (inactive) will sit this one out. Besides, Kessler (foot injury) might also miss out on the game.
The Jazz had a tough time, losing for the seventh time in eight games with a 115-107 loss to Orlando on Thursday. During those seven losses, Utah allowed an average of 127.1 points per game.
As the Jazz work on improving their defense, coach Will Hardy mentioned that he’ll be keeping an eye on rookie Taylor Hendricks. Hendricks has been in the starting lineup since the All-Star break.
The Jazz are up against a Miami team with a diverse offense. Despite their lower scoring average, they have several players who can make a difference. Jimmy Butler leads the team with an average of 21.5 points per game, followed by Tyler Herro with 20.8 points and Adebayo with 20.3 points.
Adebayo also pulls down an average of 10.5 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, Herro was out with a knee injury for Thursday’s game. He told reporters earlier in the week that he’s aiming to be fully recovered in time for the playoffs.
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