The Miami Heat, who are currently on a six-game winning streak, will host the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. The Heat completed a 4-0 road trip on Tuesday with a 115-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Center Bam Adebayo of the Heat stated, “We have a will to win.” Brooklyn, which most recently defeated the Orlando Magic 124-104 on Tuesday, has a far more modest two-game winning streak. Two Brooklyn starters, point guard Ben Simmons (back) and shooting guard Cam Thomas (ankle), were sidelined for that game due to injury.
With 26.9 points per game, Thomas leads the Nets in scoring; nevertheless, his health is questionable. Despite only having played six games, Simmons leads the team in assists (6.7) and rebounds (10.8). Simmons, who hasn’t played since November 6, will be sidelined for at least another week, according to Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. This season, the Nets are averaging 118.2 points per game when Simmons is in the starting lineup and 105.6 points when he isn’t. “Ben was playing really well,” Vaughn stated. “We’ll support him while he’s dealing with this.”
The Nets relied on guard Spencer Dinwiddle (who scored a game-high 29 points and dished out nine assists) and forwards Mikal Bridges (21 points) and Cam Johnson (20 points) to defeat Orlando without their starting backcourt. Nic Claxton, a 6-11 center, returned to the Nets on Sunday after being sidelined. He has averaged 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks in three games this season. Brooklyn will go to Miami for the second time this month on Wednesday. Nov. 1: The Nets defeated the Heat 109-105. In that game, Lonnie Walker IV, a former standout of the Miami Hurricanes, led the Nets’ bench with 17 points and four assists. That was the last loss before Miami’s current winning run of six games began. The Heat, who play Brooklyn right after and then head off on a five-game road trip, have been lacking in personnel as a result of Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin’s injuries. Herro has a sprained ankle and will get a second opinion in a week. He leads the Heat in scoring (22.9) and assists (4.6) in eight games. He will have missed four games in a row starting on Thursday.
Martin is a useful role player who started 49 games for Miami last season, a career best. Martin, another of Miami’s several undrafted players, is a fierce player who can be found on both wings. Due to knee tendinitis, he has only been able to participate in one game this season; nevertheless, he is classified as available for Thursday’s match. Without the two players, Miami is still winning mostly thanks to Adebayo and Jimmy Butler’s contributions. Adebayo is Miami’s top scorer (23.0), co-leader in steals (1.4), and leader in rebounds (10.5) and blocks (1.4). In terms of assists (3.8), he is third. In terms of stats thus far, Butler is third on the squad in both points (20.0) and rebounds (5.9). But Butler is getting hot under the collar with a record-breaking 32 points Tues. In terms of mentality, Butler is an extension of coach Erik Spoelstra, which is where the renowned Heat “culture” begins. Regarding Miami’s recent winning run, Spoelstra remarked, “We’re finding ways to win.”
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