After an underperforming week of basketball, the Miami Heat had two days off to prepare for their upcoming opponents. Two of the Heat’s next three games will be at the home, against the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics. After that, the Heat will travel to New York to face the Knicks.
This will be the second and last meeting between the Heat and Grizzlies, in November the Heat traveled to Memphis and won 108-102. That November matchup was one of the Heat’s worst when turning the ball over, they finished the game with 19 turnovers. A stifling Grizzlies defense can force that to happen. On the bright side, the Heat shot just over 39% from three that game, and they’ll desperately need a performance of that caliber again after shooting 33% from three over their past four games. Rebounding will be vital in this game, second-chance rebounds have hurt Miami, especially in possessions where they get key stops. This Memphis team will be completely shorthanded. Miami needs to capitalize on that.
The Heat lost against the Celtics and Knicks earlier in the season, in both games the Heat failed to put together good offensive performances. They were outscored in the fourth quarter of each game, an area where Miami has not excelled this season as they rank 29th overall. Miami’s fourth quarter defense also lapsed in both games, the Celtics and Knicks both came back to win the games. The Heat have no option but to capitalize on offense, force turnovers, and more importantly, improve their ball movement.
This week is huge for the Heat as they are tinkering from play-in contention. Heading into this week, Miami is 10th in defensive rating and 20th in offensive rating. They also rank 7th in three-point percentage and rebounding percentage after being top 5 in both categories prior to the last four games.
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