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GAME STORY
The last time the Miami Heat (44-22) faced the Phoenix Suns (52-13), Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson combined for 60 points off the bench as the Heat cruised to a 23 point win in Phoenix.
Now, Miami has found themselves on the cusp of being entirely healthy and the Suns are without All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Regardless, the Suns haven’t slown down much, and they picked up a win in Orlando last night.
The Heat welcomed back Victor Oladipo to the lineup on Monday when he scored 11 points and had 4 assists in 15 minutes of action. It’s thought that he will have the same amount of minute distribution in this game, with roughly two 6-8 minute stretches. When he returned, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus were taken out of the rotation, a sacrifice the Oladipo thanked them for after the game.
If Devin Booker is still out (which isn’t certain, he could be available for this game), then the Heat will have a solid chance at winning this one. However, the Suns are not built just around Paul and Booker. They have a solid core of players who know how to score and contribute. DeAndre Ayton is the type of big that will give Bam Adebayo some trouble because of his length.
That’s my KEY MATCHUP for this game. One, the Heat need to limit who gets switched onto Ayton. Sure, Adebayo and probably Tucker can muscle with him, but even Butler and on down are going to be overpowered if they drop the ball into him deep. On the other end of the floor, Bam has to be overly involved in DHOs to see how Ayton responds, because if he plays drop coverage the Heat can burn the Suns.
The Heat are playing well right now, I like their odds in this game regardless of who is playing. This is Miami’s 3rd game of a 7-game homestand.
The ODDS for the game have the Heat at -7.5 on the spread.
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:
- Markieff Morris: out (neck)
- Javonte Smart: out (two-way)
- Kyle Guy: out (two-way)
- Caleb Martin: questionable (Achilles)
PHOENIX:
- Chris Paul: out (thumb)
- Dario Saric: out (ACL injury)
- Frank Kaminsky: out (knee)
- Cam Johnson: questionable (quad)
- Devin Booker: questionable (H&S Protocols)
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 |
BROADCAST INFO
TV: Bally Sports Sun, ESPN
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)
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