GAME PREVIEW: Heat take on new-look Nets ahead of All-Star Break

In the final game before the 2022-23 NBA All-Star break, the Miami Heat will travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The two teams have only met one other time this season, which resulted in a 102-101 Nets victory in Miami behind a near-buzzer-beater from Royce O’Neale. Kevin Durant was injured midway through the third quarter, only playing 30 minutes with 17 points, but Kyrie Irving finished with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting.

But in case you’ve been living in an abyss or hiding under a rock over the last two weeks — neither are apart of the team anymore!

The Nets shipped Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks in a four-player trade with three picks (one first-rounder, two second-rounders; the Suns, on the other hand, sent a shockwave across the league roughly 14 hours ahead of last week’s deadline, trading for Durant in a four-team deal that included five first-round picks (four unprotected, one swap), two second-round picks, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson heading to Brooklyn.

It has gone just 1-2 since both have been traded: An 11-point win over the Chicago Bulls followed by a pair of 2- and 18-point losses to the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, respectively.

The Heat, who stood pat (no pun intended) at the trade deadline outside of flipping Dewayne Dedmon plus a second-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for all-time great cash considerations, have won three of their last four and 20 of their last 11.

Though its three-game win streak — and it’s eight-game home winning streak — came to a halt Monday in a 112-108 loss to the one-seeded Denver Nuggets. Denver was without Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, but still shot nearly 60 percent from the floor collectively behind an oft-efficient 27-12-8 stat-line from Nikola Jokic.

INACTIVE/INJURIES:

MIAMI:

• Tyler Herro (knee) — OUT
• Nikola Jovic (back) — OUT
• Kyle Lowry (knee) — OUT
• Victor Oladipo (ankle) — OUT
• Duncan Robinson (finger) — QUESTIONABLE
• Omer Yurtseven (ankle) — OUT

NETS:

**Did not post one**

PROJECTED STARTING 5:

BROADCAST INFO:

Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST

TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass

RADIO: WQAM 560 & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)

SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & 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!