Miami looks to shorten the gap to within 1 game of .500
Game Story:
The 9-11 Miami Heat are set to face the 11-8 and 5th seeded Atlanta Hawks this afternoon. A rematch of last seasons first round series, the division rival Hawks have looked good to start the year. With the huge addition of guard Dejounte Murray, this Atlanta team is still figuring things out. However, they are an above average team and this is not going to be an easy win.
Miami has yet another hefty injury report as the Hawks have a small one. With that being said, a big difference maker can be the availability of Clint Capella for them. Capella brings size and length on both ends of the floor for Atlanta. With a Heat team that has struggled in rebounding the whole season, he could be a difference maker.
Bam Adebayo is finally off the injury report all together for now, but many key guys are going to be closer to gametime decisions. That includes Tyler Herro and the recently emerging Caleb Martin. Those are two guys that this team really needs out on the court to be successful, especially with Jimmy Butler still being out.
A player to look out for is Haywood Highsmith, who has embraced the “next man up” mentality and has provided very solid minutes as of late. He does all the little things; rebounding, tips, deflections, defensive stops, and even his offensive game is coming around. Highsmith has made the most of his minutes and has filled a void in the PF depth very nicely.
If Miami can contain the backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, the Heat are looking to be set for a good night. Before back to back match ups against the 1 seed Boston Celtics, this would be a big win to snag on the road and go into Boston with momentum.
Injury Report:
Heat
- Jamal Cain, probable
- Dewayne Dedmon, questionable
- Tyler Herro, questionable
- Gabe Vincent, questionable
- Caleb Martin, questionable
- Max Strus, questionable
- Duncan Robinson, questionable
- Jimmy Butler, out
- Victor Oladipo, out
- Omer Yurtseven, out
- Orlando Robinson, out
Hawks
- Clint Capela, questionable
- Bogdan Bogdonavic, out
- Tyrese Martin, out
Probable Starters:
Heat
- Caleb Martin
- Nikola Jovic
- Bam Adebayo
- Tyler Herro
- Kyle Lowry
Hawks
- Deandre Hunter
- Onyeka Okongwu
- John Collins
- Dejounte Murray
- Trae Young
ODDS (via FanDuel)
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Broadcast Info:
Tipoff: 5:00pm 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)