This Friday, the (18-17) Miami Heat will travel to Denver, CO to take on the (22-12) Denver Nuggets. Tipoff will be at 9:00 PM EST inside Ball Arena. These two teams have not matched up this season, but I am still expecting a battle in this one!
The Miami Heat are coming into this one after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-98. They looked great on both ends of the floor, as they will have to stay aggressive in this game if they want to challenge the Nuggets on the road.
The Nuggets are entering this battle after falling to the Sacramento Kings, 127-126. Denver collapsed in the final seconds, as they let this game slip away. They will have to be better on both ends if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Miami Heat are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are seven games back from the Boston Celtics. On offense, Miami is scoring 108.2 points per game and they have shot 45.2% from the floor. This is the least amount of points scored per contest and the 26th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Heat have an adjusted offensive rating of 110, which is the 28th-highest rating in the NBA. Tyler Herro continues to lead the way on the offensive end, as he is scoring 21 points per game on 44.8% shooting from the floor. The Heat have also shown that they struggle to step behind the arc and knock down shots. They are only shooting 34% from deep, which is the 24th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Luckily, they have taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they are shooting 82.2% from the line. This is the second-highest free-throw shooting percentage, a s they can't miss these free looks at the rim and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Heat are surrendering 108.9 points per game and they have forced their opponents to shoot 47.5% from the floor. This is the fourth least amount of points given up per game and the 21st-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Heat have an adjusted defensive rating of 111.7, which is the seventh-lowest rating in the NBA. Miami has struggled to consistently contest shots, as they have also struggled to defend on the perimeter. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 36.2% from deep, which is the 20th-lowest three-point shooting percentage given up in the league. The Heat is snatching 40.7 rebounds per game as well. This is the 27th most in the league, as they have to crash the offensive and defensive glass if they want to stay competitive in this game.
Injury Report: Kyle Lowry PG (Personal), Udonis Haslem PF (Achilles), and Dewayne Dedmon C (Foot)
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