Orlando Magic at Miami HEAT Game Preview

The Miami HEAT host the Orlando Magic Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Get your tickets now! Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM, and television coverage is on FOX Sports Sun. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.

1: With Tuesday night being Chris Bosh Night, what is your favorite memory of Bosh’s time with the HEAT?

Couper Moorhead: While Bosh had a ton of memorable moments on the court, game-winning moments at just about any time of year you can think of, my own favorite memories are of Bosh in the locker room and after practices when he was always more than happy to talk and chat until conversations naturally ended. Bosh is both incredibly thoughtful and self-aware, which made his views on games, both those he played in and what was happening around the league, revealing and instructive. You could learn plenty just from talking to Bosh and for someone who works in basketball for a living, all those conversations were just as memorable as anything he did with a ball in his hands.

Joe Beguiristain: Let me start by piggybacking off Coup and mentioning that dealing with Chris Bosh off the court was an absolute pleasure. For as good as he was as a player, he was equally as remarkable as a person. Countless times after practice, I can remember Bosh just hanging out and speaking with the media about basketball and life in general. That's just who he was.

As for on the court, I’ll always remember his intensity and ability to get the job done in crunch time. But above all else, he genuinely cared. Before helping the HEAT win back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 — with the latter coming thanks to a fantastic performance in Game 6 of the Finals — Bosh fell to the ground in 2011 after losing to the Mavericks.

Not only did that moment show how much he cared, but it also fueled him for all the great things that were yet to come in a Hall of Fame career.

Couper: The season series stands at 2-1 in favor of Orlando right now, and there has been a wide variety of reasons for each one of those outcomes, from Orlando’s bench dominating back in October, Orlando making over half of their threes in a 15-point win in December and Miami running away with one a couple weeks later thanks to their own hot shooting and a standout performance from the starting lineup. Now, three months removed from those games and with each team using tweaked and modified rotations, it’s possible none of that matters beyond the importance of shooting. If either team gets hot we may see another double-digit evening but with this being essentially the most important game of the season on both sides it’s tough to predict anything but a close game down the stretch.

The HEAT have players that have given Orlando problems in the past, and vice versa, though Bam Adebayo starting and possibly being given the Aaron Gordon assignment is a look this matchup hasn’t seen a ton of. The Magic have enough shooting and capable playmakers, particularly Nikola Vučević in the middle of the floor, to attack Miami’s zone, but they rely heavily on the shot-making of Terrence Ross to bolster a bench unit in need of scoring. If Miami can bother Ross enough as he runs off screens, with and without the ball, they’ll force Orlando to require a bit of an outlier performance from one of their other playmakers. And the more responsibility you can force on the fewest amount of players, against a team that isn’t centralized around one or two offensive engines, the greater your margin for error.

Joe: At this point, the HEAT understand that they need to defend at a high level and move the ball with precision in order to give themselves a good chance to win. Then again, making shots always helps.

During Miami’s recent 3-1 road trip, three guys shot over 38 percent from deep on high volume, and Dwyane Wade did his thing in the fourth quarter more often than not. And when you also factor in Bam Adebayo’s stellar play on both ends, you see why the HEAT had a lot of success against some tough teams.

Well, here comes another.

The Magic come into Tuesday night winners of five straight largely because of their defense. In fact, Orlando owns a 97.8 defensive rating over that span, which is by far the best in the league. Thanks to Nikola Vučević, Khem Birch, Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross among others, the Magic have really limited teams from both the restricted area and beyond the arc.

We’ll see how it all goes down.

3: How will Tuesday night’s result affect the playoff scenario?

Couper: We’ve had a lot of biggest games of the season lately and Miami has for the most part taking care of business, beating Charlotte twice, beating Brooklyn and splitting with Detroit. This is the latest in that run, and the implications are significant. After Orlando handled Philadelphia Monday night, this game is for sole possession of the No. 8 seed. If the Magic win, they also get the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Miami wins they’ll have the tiebreaker temporarily but Orlando can take it back by winning their final two division games since Miami has none left. In other words, this game counts for two. Win or lose it will be a bit still before there is any postseason clarity, but whoever wins will control their own destiny for a spot in the playoffs. With fewer than 10 games to play, that’s a powerful spot to be in.

Joe: Nothing is set in stone yet since seeds six through nine are separated by just a game and a half, but this game is huge. There’s really no other way around it.

But as I always say, it’s all about taking care of business and worrying about what you can control.

Luckily enough, Miami does control its own destiny.

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