The Miami Heat are facing off against the Orlando Magic tonight, February 5.
Once just half a game behind the third ranked Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat have fallen to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
At 29-24, they have lost seven out of their last ten games, including three in a row. Going 1-3 on their latest road trip. They came out ahead 95-88, against the Dallas Mavericks, but then fell short to the Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons.
Not ideal, to say the least.
But, the Heat are ready to bounce back. Made better by the fact that their next 10 out of 14 matchups, will be at home. Starting with hosting the Orlando Magic, on Monday, February 5.
The good news is, Miami has won two out of it’s three meetings against Orlando this year, including the last two. They earned an 107-89 victory on December 26, followed by an 117-111 triumph on December 30.
Hopefully, both Wayne Ellington (who went 4-for-5 from downtown on December 26) and Goran Dragic (having scored 25 points, 14 alone in the fourth quarter on December 30) can show up and play aggressively against the Magic.
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However, the Heat are also counting on Hassan Whiteside to be a big factor too. Sidelined due to a stomach illness versus the Pistons, he’s expected back on Monday (despite not going through shootaround, in order to rest.)
In the first win, he played just 17 minutes, totaling seven points and eight rebounds. And he didn’t do much better the second time around either, finishing with nine points and 13 rebounds in 28 minutes.
The question is, will Whiteside show up tonight?
Despite being one of the top big men currently in the game, the center hasn’t had the most consistent season so far. While he recorded a monster 25 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Dallas, he had just nine points and eight rebounds in the loss to Cleveland. His up-and-down performances in large part being due to constant changes in lineups, which have seemingly gotten the best of the majority of the roster.
Still, Miami plays better ball when the 28-year-old is fully engaged, which is what the team is hoping for tonight.
As for Orlando, they will be without Aaron Gordon, who is dealing with a hip injury. He also had to withdraw from this year’s NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, being replaced by Donovan Mitchell.
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The Miami Heat will take on the Orlando Magic tonight at 7:30 PM ET.