Phoenix Suns at Miami HEAT Game Preview

The Miami HEAT host the Phoenix Suns Monday 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: What happened against Detroit?

Couper Moorhead: This was surely one of the more disappointing losses this year given the playoff implications involved – it put Miami two games back of Detroit, which jumped up to No. 7, and dropped them to No. 10 in a tie with Orlando – and there isn’t really any other way to say it than the Pistons, on a back-to-back, took control of the game in the second half and never looked back. Miami being without Justise Winslow and James Johnson to defend Blake Griffin was a significant factor given that those absences forced Miami to send help to Griffin, who was then able to swing the ball to open shooters, but in the end it was Detroit’s bench which swung the game. Ish Smith couldn’t miss as he darted between defenders in the paint, shooting 8-of-9 for 22 points, and Zaza Pachulia, not the quickest defender these days at 34-years old, was a +16 overall as the Pistons improved to 8-1 when Pachulia is a +9 or better. Detroit has a starting group talented enough to play with anyone, so when their bench plays like it did Saturday night, they’re a tough out. Still plenty of season left for Miami, but this is one loss that could be remembered come mid-April.

Joe Beguiristain: With a bunch of key contributors out, the HEAT just couldn’t muster up much of anything on either end of the floor and struggled to find consistency. However, Miami did respond well in the third quarter after falling behind by 15. To get things started, Kelly Olynyk absorbed a lot of contact inside, took advantage of Detroit being in the bonus and led the HEAT with nine points in the period. Dwyane Wade, on the other hand, closed out the quarter with a bang and set up Bam Adebayo for a monster jam which turned out to be the play of the night. But once Miami cut the deficit to eight entering the fourth, the Pistons took over and shot an unreal 70 percent (14-of-20) in the final period.

Long story short, it was just a tough night overall.

Couper: The HEAT beat the Suns comfortably on December 7. Just 10 days later Phoenix opted to trade Trevor Ariza to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kelly Oubre Jr, giving them another young wing on a team becoming quite full of them. Then, just before the trade deadline, the Suns acquired Tyler Johnson (and Wayne Ellington, who was later waived) from the HEAT in exchange for Ryan Anderson to give Devin Booker some ballhandling relief. And after struggling with his shot a bit in his first handful of games with the Suns, Johnson exploded for 29 points Saturday night as he shot 10-of-16.

The Suns are still headed toward the lottery, but they’ve added shooters capable of handling the ball around Booker and Deandre Ayton and have both the spacing and athleticism to have big offensive performances – similar in many ways to the Atlanta Hawks. Defense is still an issue, but this isn’t a team you can take lightly.

Joe: As Coup mentioned above, Phoenix added a few guys since that last meeting against the HEAT. And among them, Kelly Oubre Jr. has stood out the most, averaging 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per contest in his 30 games as a Sun. Not to mention, Phoenix scores 107.0 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, which is the best on the team.

Otherwise, though, this is a team that still struggles on both ends. In fact, the Suns have gone just 7-28 since that last loss to Miami in early December and have posted the third-worst net rating over that span at minus-8.8.

3: With Devin Booker healthy this time around, how will Miami have to center its defense?

Couper: As we mentioned, the Suns have a ton of capable shooters and attackers on the wing and when Booker is healthy it opens up the floor for everyone. Especially since Booker, we should note, is a more capable playmaker than many probably think of as he’s averaging almost seven assists per game. He’s not an overpowering force but he can do a little bit of everything, including getting to the free-throw line if you overplay his jumper. The HEAT have the personnel to defend Booker one-on-one with Hassan Whiteside and Bam Adebayo in the backline to clean up any drives while staying close to Ayton, but if Booker gets going and extra help has to come over on that potent pick-and-roll combination (1.07 points-per-pick) then Miami’s rotations, the ones that were trouble in the second half against Detroit, will need to be on point. The HEAT don’t need to do anything particularly special outside of their system, but it all comes down to how they manage that pick-and-roll.

Joe: Well, Devin Booker is a guy who can catch fire in a hurry and score from pretty much wherever he wants. In addition to being able to hit the three, Booker is also shooting 60.4 percent at the rim and 45.3 percent from mid-range. And since his return from a minor hamstring injury just before the All-Star Break, he’s been stuffing the stat sheet. Over the past four games, the 22-year-old is averaging 23.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 boards on 34.8 percent shooting from deep.

As such, the HEAT have to keep track of him at all times and limit his air space. And since he has the ability to either score for himself or facilitate off the dribble in the pick-and-roll, Miami has to communicate on the defensive end and make sure everyone is accounted for.

We’ll see how it all plays out.

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