The Miami Heat are to set to open a two-game weekend road trip starting in Chicago against the 8-6 Bulls.
(Photo via Getty Images)
Following two consecutive home wins for the Miami Heat, they are now heading back on the road— starting with a Friday night Emirates NBA Cup matchup versus the Chicago Bulls.
Outside of placement in the NBA Cup standings, this is a crucial game for both teams. The Heat are currently the fifth seed in the East at a 9-6 overall record, but Chicago isn’t trailing far behind them with an 8-6 record as the seventh seed. In a wild look at the Eastern Conference early on, seeds 2-11 are only separated by 2.5 games. The East is wide open and waiting for someone to emerge, so all these early season matchups matter right now.
Miami is 6-4 over their last 10 games and had their All-Star big man and team captain Bam Adebayo recently return to the lineup in their previous win. Adebayo’s impact was heavily missed on both ends, and he wasted no time getting back into the swing of things. He posted 20 points and 7 rebounds on an efficient shooting night on route to the victory over the Golden State Warriors.
However, Andrew Wiggins is now on the Heat’s injury report and will miss his first game of the season in Chicago. He is out with a hip strain. Nikola Jovic is also out with a hip injury, leaving Miami with just 10 players on standard deals available tonight.
Will the Heat be able to hold off the rising play of Josh Giddey and the Bulls to extend to a three-game win streak? Let us know in the comments!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
Miami Heat:
- Myron Gardner (g-league) — QUESTIONABLE
- Tyler Herro (ankle) — OUT
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
- Nikola Jovic (hip) — OUT
- Andrew Wiggins (hip) — OUT
- Jahmir Young (g-league) — OUT
- Kasparas Jakucionis (g-league) — OUT
Chicago Bulls:
- Coby White (calf) — QUESTIONABLE
- Tre Jones (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
- Jalen Smith (pectoralis strain) — PROBABLE
- Zach Collins (scaphoid fracture) — OUT
- Emanuel Miller (g-league) — OUT
- Lachlan Olbrich (g-league) — OUT
- Trentyn Flowers (g-league) — OUT
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Pelle Larsson, F/G
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
- Kel’el Ware, C
Chicago Bulls:
- Josh Giddey, G
- Kevin Huerter, G
- Isaac Okoro, F
- Matas Buzelis, F
- Nikola Vucevic, C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 8:00 PM EST
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (Eric Reid & John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Check out Hot Hot Hoops on Facebook here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
