The Miami HEAT host the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Get your tickets now! The HEAT fell to the Pelicans 91-87 in their last meeting on December 23. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM. Television coverage on FOX Sports Sun begins at 7:00 PM. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: Is there anything we can take away from Miami’s loss in Indiana or is that one we can mostly forget about?
Couper Moorhead: While it’s true that this was a tough bit of scheduling with a 6 pm game following an 8 pm start the night before, and Goran Dragić did not play, there were still some issues down the stretch worth cleaning up. The HEAT have been winning close games in bunches lately with a ton of big shots from just about everyone on the roster, but the challenge that comes with that is making sure you’re taking the best shots you can get – not easy, given the slower, defensive focus of late-game situations – and not settling for shots that happened to go in before. Fatigue no doubt played a role, but Miami managed just five points on 20 percent shooting in the final minutes as Indiana regained the lead. Come the postseason, should they make it, sustaining habits into the most high-leverage of situations will be crucial.
Joe Beguiristain: Despite the quick turnaround with no Goran Dragić, the HEAT fought extremely hard against the Pacers. Thanks to the continued hot shooting of Wayne Ellington (eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in the fourth), Miami took a few late leads before Myles Turner closed things out for Indiana. While the HEAT’s effort was remarkable given the circumstances, the offense was stagnant at times down the stretch. Overall, you could definitely tell the team missed Dragić and his ability to break down the defense both in the half court and in transition. That said, Dion Waiters assumed the mantle of primary facilitator and led the team with six assists on Sunday night. When both guards are on the court together, Miami's offense is much more fluid. Luckily enough, Dragić went through all of Tuesday’s practice and had a simple answer when asked afterwards if he could play against the Pelicans.
“Oh yeah, definitely.”
2: What did we learn from Miami’s loss to the Pelicans earlier this season?
Couper: Both teams are so different now that there isn’t much valuable data to take away from a game two days before Christmas, but it does help illustrate just how valuable Miami’s bench has been this year. As strong as the core of Goran Dragić, Dion Waiters and Hassan Whiteside has been performing offensively, the bench units of James Johnson, Tyler Johnson and Willie Reed have carried a ton of defensive value themselves. But against the Pelicans is was the opponent bench that won the day, with Langton Galloway and E’Twaun Moore posting +19 and +15, respectively. That was also a tough scheduling game, with the team playing in Los Angeles the night before and then crossing time zones (hence the 41 percent shooting), but there’s little doubt how important the bench is to this particular group.
Joe: While both teams are quite different now, we saw the importance of Dragić and Anthony Davis in that last meeting. With Waiters and Ellington out, the Slovenian led the HEAT with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and five assists on December 23. Although this game occurred right around the time Dragić started to get hot from beyond the arc, he also did damage at the rim in that last matchup. Regardless of who was guarding him, the crafty point guard found success early and often.
On the Pelicans’ side, Davis had one of those monster games that he’s certainly capable of. Whether it was pick-and-pop threes or attacks to the basket, the 24-year-old did it all. We’ll see how Miami fares this time around with DeMarcus Cousins now in the fray.
3: How has the pairing of DeMarcus Cousins with Anthony Davis worked for the Pelicans so far?
Couper: The results have been mixed so far. New Orleans is 4-6 since the All-Star break, with losses of both the close and not-so-close variety. The good news is that when Cousins and Davis have been on the floor together (179 minutes so far), the team has allowed just 96.6 points per 100 possessions. That’s elite defense no matter how you look at it. But the offense has been just a 92.1 per 100, which is the opposite end of the spectrum. Some of that is to be expected as it’s not easy incorporating two ball-dominant big men on the fly, not to mention that Cousins has been slumping a bit offensively. These two players are both so skilled, however, that you have to expect they’ll be able to find a balance and eventually be a force.
Joe: The pairing of Cousins and Davis has largely been a work in progress thus far. Although New Orleans’ defense has improved since the All-Star Break, the offense has taken a dip (however, the team looked sharp on both ends against Portland on Tuesday). The struggles on offense may seem surprising since both guys are very gifted on that end, but chemistry always plays a role no matter how much talent a team has. At the end of the day, they’ve only played nine games together, and it takes time for pairings like these to come to fruition. As the season winds down, things should look a lot smoother for the Pelicans.
Highlights:
Game Notes:
- The HEAT have won 21 of their last 26 games and are 32-35.
- The Pelicans have won two straight and are 27-40 on the year.
- Hassan Whiteside has posted 45 double-doubles this season, which is eight shy of Rony Seikaly’s single-season franchise record.
- Anthony Davis leads New Orleans in points (27.9) and blocks (2.3) per game.
Efficiencies (Rank):
- HEAT Offense: 104.5 (20)
- HEAT Defense: 103.9 (5)
- Pelicans Offense: 101.9 (27)
- Pelicans Defense: 104.1 (6)