On the final game of a long five-game road trip, can Miami get back on track?
The Miami Heat look to bounce back against the Phoenix Suns on Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET, which will be their fifth-and-final game of their five-game road trip, their longest of the season. The game will be nationally-televised on ESPN.
The Heat are coming off arguably their worst loss of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Miami lost 112-109 to an inferior Lakers squad without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV, failing to resemble the hard-nosed, gritty Heat team we all are accustomed to seeing.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler still combined for 57 points — including Adebayo recording his third-straight 30-point game — but the sense of urgency lacked elsewhere.
In two of its three four-game road trips this season, Miami’s won the final game just once — against the lowly San Antonio Spurs, 111-101, on Dec. 17. The Heat have won four of their last six and look to kick start any sort of momentum riding into a gauntlet of a schedule.
The Suns, meanwhile, have struggled without the likes of Devin Booker, who’s currently out due to a groin strain. They lost a low-scoring battle to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday after getting embarrassed by the New York Knicks on Monday.
Phoenix has lost four straight, eight of its last nine and 13 of its last 17. In its first meeting against the Heat this season on Nov. 14, Jimmy Butler slammed the door on the Suns, shutting down Booker on the final possession to close out the 113-112 win in Miami.
Will history repeat itself against a now-Booker-less Suns? Time will tell!
INACTIVE/INJURIES:
MIAMI:
- Jamal Cain (G-League) — OUT
- Dewayne Dedmon (foot) — PROBABLE
- Udonis Haslem (achilles) — QUESTIONABLE
- Nikola Jovic (back) — OUT
- Caleb Martin (quad) — QUESTIONABLE
- Duncan Robinson (finger) — OUT
- Omer Yurtseven (ankle) — OUT
PHOENIX:
- Devin Booker (groin) — OUT
- Jae Crowder (absent from team) — OUT
- Cameron Johnson (meniscus) — OUT
- Cam Payne (foot) — OUT
PROJECTED STARTING 5:
BROADCAST INFO:
Tipoff: 10:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN, Bally Sports Sun
RADIO: WQAM 560 & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & 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!