The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat battle at State Farm Arena on Dec. 26 at 7:00 p.m. Both teams got off to encouraging starts to the season but have slipped recently. Miami sits at 15-15, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference, and is 2-6 in its last eight games. The Hawks fell one game under .500 at 15-16 after back-to-back home losses to the Chicago Bulls to start Christmas week. Both squads look to get back on track against each other tonight.
Hawks and Heat Meet In Battle of Struggling Squads
Heat Offense Slows Down After Red-Hot Start
Miami instituted a new offensive system for the 2025-26 campaign. Head coach Erik Spoelstra wanted to switch things up after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept Miami in an “embarrassing” 2024 first-round playoff performance.
“We were absolutely outclassed and embarrassed in a really bad way in the playoffs … We had plenty of time to work on things, and then we just want to be open-minded. The first day of camp, I said I just wanted them to embrace the unknown, and I viewed that as a good thing,” expressed Spoelstra. The results spoke for themselves over the first month of the campaign.
The Heat played at a frantic, fast pace with minimal on-ball pick-and-rolls. This drastic change took the league by storm, and Miami was 13-6 after a six-game win streak in late November. Their offense led the association, scoring 124.8 points per game. Miami put up this number, despite Tyler Herro missing the first 17 games of the campaign. Norman Powell fit seamlessly into his new squad, averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game in his 11th season.
The Heat looked like they could surpass all the offseason expectations after they traded Jimmy Butler before the 2025 trade deadline. However, they hit a wall when the calendar flipped to December. Miami still plays at the fastest pace in the league (104.34), but its points per contest dropped to 119.2 on the season. From Nov. 22 to Dec. 25, the Heat averaged 112.9 points per game, sliding all the way down to 22nd in the league. They want to find their offensive rhythm again, and they might face the perfect opponent to do that in Atlanta.
Hawks’ Defense Falls Apart in Four-Game Losing Streak
The Hawks were 13-8 on Nov. 30, despite Trae Young playing only the first five games of the season. However, they have a 2-8 record since. In contrast to Miami, Atlanta’s problems over the last month lie on the defensive end.
Over the last 10 games, the Hawks held their opponents to less than 115 points just once. The Chicago Bulls completed a two-game sweep in Atlanta in which they scored 152 and 126 points, respectively. Both contests ended with a chance for the Hawks to extend the game or win on the final possession, but that should not be the main takeaway.
The Hawks cannot routinely let up over 120 points per game and expect to win. On some nights, the team simply will not shoot well enough to stay in games, but defense travels. Atlanta ranks 27th with a 120.8 defensive rating for December. The Hawks surrendered at least 126 points during their four-game win streak, and after Friday, their schedule gets tougher. They face the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves to close out 2025.
Will Miami re-activate its scoring machine, or will the Hawks find their defensive footing? These questions make for an interesting matchup tonight.
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