Game Preview: Wizards vs. Heat

December 15, 20125:39 AM EST

Preview

The Wizards will look to beat the Miami Heat for the fourth consecutive time when the two teams square off on Saturday night in Miami (7:30 pm | TV: CSN | Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM).

The Wizards upset the defending champs earlier this year at Verizon Center and will look to do the same on the Heat's home floor tonight.

It was ball movement and transition baskets that were key for the Wizards in their 105-101 win over the Heat on December 4th. The Wiz shot a season-high 48% in that game and will need to shoot the ball well once again to have a chance to take down the Heat for the second time this year.

The Heat are coming off a home loss to the Golden State Warriors and have now lost three of their past five games. They have shown flaws defensively over that stretch and have looked a little out of sync at times.

However, this is still a team that possesses some of the NBA's premiere players and they can be as dangerous a team that the Wizards will face this year. If the Wizards can run and get easy baskets like they did in their last meeting with the Heat, this could be another competitive game.

The action kicks off at 7:30pm.

Tonight's Hot Player: Bradley Beal

Key Matchup

Bradley Beal had been gaining consistency with his play but struggled last night vs. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers scoring only four points. It snapped a streak of six straight games of Beal reaching double figures. He also has been getting on the glass and becoming more of a distributor, seeing his season averages in rebounds and assists improve to 3.6 and 2.4 respectively. But, the task will be no easier tonight when he takes on Dwyane Wade.

Wade continues to be one of the league's best players who can score in a variety of ways. He is at his best when he gets into the lane and scores near the rim, which means Beal will need to put up a strong defensive effort to keep Wade from being able to slash.

This should be a fast-paced game with a lot of transition play, so look for Beal to find some open looks when the Wizards are running and keeping pace with the high tempo play of the Heat.

In the below clip, Bradley Beal talks to the media after last night's game vs. Los Angeles.

In the below clip, Bradley Beal talks about playing against the Heat and going up against Wade and Allen.

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Heat Projected Starters