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GAME STORY
The last time the Miami Heat (47-25) have are facing another opponent without their best player as the Golden State Warriors (47-25) visit.
As you can see by the records, a win here would bring Miami ahead of the Warriors, which could be important if this were to be an NBA Finals matchup. The Warriors are playing without Steph Curry, but the Heat also just lost to the Sixers without Joel Embiid and James Harden.
The Warriors may also rest Draymond Green and Klay Thompson as they also played last night in Orlando, but that is yet to be determined. The Warriors were outscored 29-16 in the 4th and lost 94-90 to the Magic. They are 6-12 in their last 18 games. Golden State still offers plenty of things the Heat will need to deal with as Jordan Poole is a lot to handle and Andrew Wiggins always seems to play well against Miami.
If Green doesn’t play, the Heat will have a much easier way of getting to the things they want on offense, especially with Duncan Robinson dribble hand-offs. But Green is a smart defender who knows how to limit those open looks by removing the drop coverage. The Heat played well against the Warriors in California before Jimmy Butler went down with an injury.
Miami is beginning a 4-game homestand with this game as they have 10 games remaining in the regular season.
Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
| GAME | DATE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAME | DATE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
| Game 1 | Tuesday, May 17 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 2 | Thursday, May 19 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 3 | Saturday, May 21 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Game 4 | Monday, May 23 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Game 5* | Wednesday, May 25 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 6* | Friday, May 27 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 7* | Sunday, May 29 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
INACTIVE/INJURIES
MIAMI:
- Javonte Smart: out (two-way)
- Kyle Guy: out (two-way)
- Caleb Martin: questionable (knee)
- Tyler Herro: questionable (knee)
- Jimmy Butler: questionable (ankle)
- Victor Oladipo: questionable: (back)
GOLDEN STATE:
- Steph Curry: out (foot)
- Andre Iguodala: out (back)
- James Wiseman: out (knee)
- Klay Thompson: questionable (B2B)
- Draymond Green: questionable (B2B)
LINEUPS
Projected Starters
| Clippers | Position | Heat |
|---|---|---|
| Clippers | Position | Heat |
| Reggie Jackson | PG | Kyle Lowry |
| Paul George | SG | Tyler Herro |
| Kawhi Leonard | SF | Jimmy Butler |
| Marcus Morris Sr. | PF | Caleb Martin |
| Ivica Zubac | C | Bam Adebayo |
ODDS
Betway has the Heat at -117 favorites with a -6.5 spread over the visiting Warriors.
BROADCAST INFO
TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson, Ruth Riley Hunter)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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