Miami Heat Wrap Up Preseason Vs Pelicans
The Miami Heat will end their preseason against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Heat (4-3) vs Pelicans (2-4)
Place: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Time: Friday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m. ET
The Miami Heat will wrap up the 2015 NBA preseason on the road versus the New Orleans Pelicans, giving fans their last chance to get a glimpse of the Heat’s starting five.
Matchup to Watch: The Heat starting five versus whomever the Pelicans have left
The Pelicans have been bitten by the dreaded injury bug this preseason and will be without Tyreke Evans, Omer Asik and possibly Eric Gordon. These injuries make it hard to predict what the Pelicans will trot out their to start the game, but nonetheless, it gives Heat fans a chance to see their starting five in action.
The Heat starting five has had limited time together, and it hasn’t been very pretty. Versus the Washington Wizards earlier this week, the Heat starting five struggled against the likes of Jared Dudley and Josh Harrellson. It’s obviously too early to panic, but the Heat clearly have some chemistry issues that need to be worked out.
Most Important Player: Hassan Whiteside
By this selection, I really meant “most important player to watch,” because Whiteside could be the main reason this team either soars or plummets this year. How scary is that? The Heat season is in the hands of a 7-footer with known temperament problems, and spent 2013-14 in Lebanon because he couldn’t find a single NBA team that wanted him.
This Heat team has a lot of offensive, but they lack 3PT shooting and rim protection, and while Whiteside has never made a three, he is still being relied on to improve both of these aspects. Much like Tristan Thompson did for the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s NBA Finals, the Heat are hoping Whiteside can get enough offensive rebounds to nullify their inefficient shooters. Outside of Gerald Green and Chris Bosh, this Heat team does not have many lights-out shooters, and they need all the help they can get.
Is Gerald Green Really This Good?
When the Heat signed veteran Gerald Green to the veteran’s minimum, we knew they got a steal, but Green has been red hot lately. Over the last five games, Green is averaging 19 points a game, while shooting 46.2 percent from field, and 42.3 percent from long range.
Green is known as an offensive specialist, or at least a shooting specialist, but no one expected this. It’s probably a fair bet that his numbers will eventually regress to the means, but for now, it’s fun to watch what he’s capable of.