The Miami Heat will head to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday night, to take on the Orlando Magic once again.
Magic (2-2) vs Heat (1-2)
Place: Amway Center, Orlando Magic
Time: Tuesday, October 13, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Sun Sports
After losing to the Orlando Magic 100-97 last Wednesday, the Miami Heat are looking for a rematch, particularly given that former guard Shabazz Napier gave them their second loss of the preseason. With 3.5 seconds left on the clock, Napier drained a 3-point shot and sealed the deal.
The Heat (1-2), coming off of a win against the San Antonio Spurs, are hoping to get their second win of the preseason. After a summer of rebuilding and revamping, the organization is coming into the 2015-16 season with an entirely new outlook. And although their preseason record may not reflect it, the team is locked and loaded this time around.
During Orlando and Miami’s first matchup, Chris Bosh scored 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-3 from beyond the arc). That was only the veteran’s second time playing a full game since before the NBA All-Star break.
Goran Dragic walked away with 12 points and five assists, more or less mirroring teammate Dwyane Wade’s figures: nine points and six assists.
And Heat newcomers Amar’e Stoudemire and Gerald Green combined for 19 points and 7 rebounds.
In other words, everyone did their part.
Moving into Tuesday night, Hassan Whiteside is still not expected to play. And although Miami actually out-rebounded the Magic last time around (39-30), his absence still hurt.
Whiteside could have slowed center Nikola Vucevic, who came away with 17 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes of play. The team certainly needs to figure out a way to slow Vucevic down, if they want to be successful.
In addition to Whiteside, Stoudemire, Mario Chalmers and Wade will not play in the second game of the team’s back-to-back.
The keys to this victory seem to be pace and 3-point shooting.
While the Dragic-Bosh setup is still new, so far, so good. Especially when you consider the speed and efficiency Dragic brings to the table. Couple that with the likes of Gerald Green’s three-ball, and the Heat should be okay. After all, they only lost by the skin of their teeth the first time around.
The question is who will be playing in this one. With so many players sitting it out, it will give a chance for head coach Erik Spoelstra’s second unit, like they did Monday against the Spurs, to show off what they can do.