This Thursday, the (13-15) Miami Heat will travel to Houston, TX to take on the (9-18) Houston Rockets. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Toyota Center (Houston). These two teams have not matched up this season, but they are both coming into this game after picking up a win.
The Miami Heat are entering this matchup after defeating the Indiana Pacers, 87-82. They were great on the defensive end of the court, as they continued to contest shots near the rim and on the perimeter. They will have to stay locked in during this game if they want to pick up another win.
The Houston Rockets are coming into this one after dominating the Phoenix Suns, 111-97. They were impressive on both ends of the floor, but they held the Suns to 32% shooting from the field. They will have to stay solid defensively if they want to challenge the Heat at home.
This game was written/published be fore last night's results.
The Miami Heat are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are still 8.5 games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On the offensive end of the court, the Heat are scoring 107.9 points per game and they have shot 45% from the field. 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 109.1, which is the 27th highest rating in the NBA. Bam Adebayo continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 20.8 points per game on 52.9% shooting from the field. The Heat have also struggled to consistently knock down shots from behind the arc. Miami is shooting 33.7% from deep, which is the 24th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. Luckily, they have been lights out at the charity stripe, as they are shooting 83.2% from the line, which is the highes t free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA. They can't allow these free looks to go to waste if they want to climb the standings.
On the defensive end of the court, the Heat have been tough to beat. According to dunksandthrees.com, they have an adjusted defensive rating of 110.9, which is the eighth-lowest rating in the league. They are currently surrendering 109.3 points per game and their opponents have shot 47.1% from the field. This is the fifth least amount of points given up per contest, but the 17th-lowest shooting percentage allowed. The Heat have also shown that they will consistently contest shots in the paint or on the perimeter, as they are allowing their opponents to shoot 35.7% from deep. This is the 16th lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed, as they have to close out on open jump shooters if they want to stay competitive in these games. Miami is also snatching 41.3 rebounds per game, which is the 27th most in the NBA. They have to crash the glass if they want to keep the Rockets from scoring second-chance points.
Injury Report: Dewayne Dedmon C (Foot) is listed as questionable. Tyler Herro SG (Ankle), Duncan Robinson F (Ankle), Max Strus SG (Shoulder) are listed as questionable. Gabe Vincent SG (Knee) is out).
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