Philadelphia 76ers at Miami HEAT Game Preview

The Miami HEAT host the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Get your tickets now! The HEAT fell to the 76ers 117-109 in their last meeting on February 11. 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: What can Miami clean up from their loss in Dallas?

Couper Moorhead: This wasn’t the type of performance we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the HEAT over the last six weeks or so. Despite another hot shooting start, the ball movement that was so snappy against Atlanta and Indiana just wasn’t there as Dallas’ switching between man and zone defensive looks – a Rick Carlisle staple – seemed to get Miami’s playmakers working in difficult, cramped situations. A late run secured a five-point lead in the final minutes that was almost enough for the win, but even then the offense felt more like brute-force effort – players just putting their heads down and charging to the rim as Dallas was closing out well on kickout attempts – and eventually that sort of attack can flame out when not bolstered by more consistent looks.

Dallas, now with a new defensive weapon in Nerlens Noel, has long been one of the more creative defensive teams around and Miami can afford to have an off night like this every so often. But as Erik Spoelstra has reiterated constantly, and as Goran Dragic echoed last night, the margin for error for this team is too small for them not to play to their identity. Fortunately, they tend to find that very identity after a day or two off.

Joe Beguiristain: While Miami’s defense was pretty good for a majority of the game, it was the offense that was stagnant at times. After displaying pristine ball movement over their three-game winning streak, the HEAT just weren’t able to replicate that on Monday night. Part of that was because the Mavericks went to a zone at times in the second quarter and disrupted Miami’s rhythm (the HEAT lit up the scoreboard with 31 points on 65 percent shooting before that point).

Although Miami did struggle a bit offensively after the first quarter, they fought back and took a late lead before Dallas closed the game on a 12-0 run to earn the win. On a night when things aren’t going your way, all you can ask for is a chance to win down the stretch. While the HEAT ultimately fell short, they showed the kind of grit and resolve we’ve seen from this group all season. Naturally, Goran Dragić led the charge and kept his man guessing with a balanced mix of drives and shots from the perimeter. Of course, the Slovenian also did plenty of damage in transition against a Mavericks team that commits the fewest turnovers in the league.

In all, Miami has shown a penchant for bouncing back strong, so we’ll see how the team responds against Philadelphia.

2: How were the 76ers able to pull out a victory over Miami, and end a 13-game winning streak, just before the All-Star break?

Couper: Without Dion Waiters, that loss was actually similar to Monday night in Dallas. Goran Dragic played very well, shooting 12-of-21 for 30 points, but the HEAT’s ball movement wasn’t quite the same with only Dragic consistently creating penetration and finding open shooters (the team had just 15 assists on 39 baskets). But nobody wanted to talk about the offense on a night when a team that has struggled to score all season, in Philadelphia, scored 116.5 points per 100 possessions with both Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor not playing. And a good chunk of that came from putting the 76ers on the foul line too often (they were 30-of-38 at the stripe), which is an issue that has cropped up every so often including late last week when Paul Millsap drew foul after foul. Some of that comes from Miami playing small-ball and thus being occasionally undersized in certain matchups, but the easiest way for a team that struggles on offense to score is to put them on the line.

Joe: With Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor out, the 76ers distributed the wealth and used a collective effort to defeat the HEAT on February 11. In all, seven guys scored in double-figures for Philadelphia, with Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel and Dario Šarić each scoring 19 points apiece. In particular, Covington came up big down the stretch and helped extend the 76ers’ lead to double-digits with 3:21 left to play.

Needless to say, the HEAT had some difficulty on the defensive end in that last matchup. While that’s troublesome since Philadelphia has been ranked near the bottom of the league in offensive rating for most of the season, the 76ers do pass the ball quite well. In fact, they own the fourth-highest assist percentage (63.1) in the NBA. Of course, a lot of that has to do with Brett Brown’s coaching philosophy and his background with the Spurs. It also helps to have a point guard who can create for his teammates as well as T.J. McConnell can. 3: How will the 76ers recent roster changes affect this matchup?

Couper: Philadelphia traded Ersan Ilyasova to Atlanta, so that’s one fewer stretch-four option for them, but they also traded Nerlens Noel to Dallas at the trade deadline in exchange for Justin Anderson and the recently-released Andrew Bogut. Anderson has a great deal of potential as a multi-positional player, but Noel was a big difference maker in the 76ers last win. With Joel Embiid out indefinitely with a knee injury, that means Philly’s center rotation will be Jahlil Okafor, who didn’t play last time against the HEAT as he was held out due to trade rumors, and Richaun Holmes, who is a better player than many might think.

Of course Embiid, even with Ben Simmons out for his entire rookie season, is still the greatest absence as the 76ers have been a legitimately good team when he’s been on the floor this season. But even without him, Brett Brown has a history of getting his roster, no matter who is on it, to compete with an edge. 

Joe: As Coup stated above, Philadelphia’s frontcourt has completely changed, with Noel and Ersan Ilysova now playing for different teams. Not to mention, Embiid is out indefinitely (although he’s only played in one game against the HEAT this season). In their place, Coach Brown has rolled with Šarić at the four and Okafor at the five. You know what you’re going to get from Okafor in the post, but Šarić has proven to be an intriguing prospect with his ability to create for others and attack the basket. What's more, the rookie has been on a tear in his last 13 games, as he’s averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest during that timespan. While the 76ers aren’t nearly the same team with Embiid out of the lineup, they still have a lot of young talent and are extremely well coached. With Miami essentially being the same way in terms of coaching and how hard it fights, we should be in for a fun game on Wednesday night.  

Highlights:

February 11-HEAT at 76ers

February 4-76ers at HEAT

Game Notes:

Efficiencies (Rank):