The Miami Heat Tip Off, Week Four: Time to take advantage

The fourth edition of the Miami Heat Tip-Off, a weekly AllUCanHeat column, is here.

The Miami Heat had a pretty good turnout this past week and showed signs of new life in these last few matchups.

They finished the week 3-1 with their only loss coming in overtime, in a close, controversial loss to the Washington Wizards. Even the referees admitted to that missed 5-second inbound play that could’ve changed the impact, late in the game.

Besides that unfortunate outcome, Miami had a solid week dominating the other three games. In fact, they’ve had a great run recently, making strides in a tight race in the Eastern Conference.

They have even managed to become the second best team in the East in their past 10 games. Yes, even better than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet though.

With 15 games left, and with yet again more injuries derailing the team’s complete lineup, anything can happen. Seven of their last 15 games are against playoff contender teams and teams that are in the same hunt as the Heat.

Upcoming Games

Monday, March 12 versus the Portland Trail Blazers (Away)
Wednesday, March 14 versus the Sacramento Kings (Away)
Friday, March 16 versus the Los Angeles Lakers (Away)

This will be the final matchup with these three teams, with only the Portland Trail Blazers securing a spot in the playoffs. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings are both six games and 14 games out of contention, respectively.

This Week’s Preview

Portland presents the most challenging encounter. With only two games played between these two clubs, the Trailblazers have the edge after an 102-95 win back on December 13.

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They are on a nine game winning streak, ousting the likes of the Golden State Warriors (twice), Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Lakers, including the latest victory by more than double digits to the defending champions. That’s a nightmare waiting for Miami, in tonight’s matchup.

Portland is fighting to secure that third seed in the Western Conference by closing the gap on the New Orleans Pelicans who were right underneath them. Miami’s been on a run, but completely different than the Trailblazers. And with both Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside out tonight, expect a rigid and physical game eventually ending in yet another loss for Miami.

The next two games might’ve gotten the best of us in the first meeting, but this time around, might have better results.

The Kings are on a downward spiral and have been officially marked out of playoff contention, so expect a easy win for Miami. It doesn’t mean the Kings will let up, especially with the recent tanking issue put to rest, but Miami has been cracking lately and if they get both Wade and Whiteside back by Wednesday, the second unit will flourish like they’ve had in late game tasks.

The Lakers have been a bit of a mystery lately, even for contenders. They have been on a strange run, managing to score over 100 points in their past 21 games; January 19 was their last game with less than 100 points. In that span, they have managed to upset teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Thunder (twice), and the Boston Celtics. They were even on an impressive five game winning streak, before Portland stopped their momentum.

Still quite an astonishing feat for a team out of playoff contention. Despite this recent turnaround, Miami has more on the line and cannot give up relatively easy games, to teams below .500.

Hopefully, Heat fans can expect revenge on both the Kings and Lakers to end the week with a 2-1 record, making a dent in the standings.

This Week’s Challenges

Should Miami continue their hot streak without Whiteside?

Should we be worried about Wade’s knees?

Should Kelly Olynyk start to assist Bam Adebayo’s productivity?

Next: Could LeBron James ever return to the Miami Heat?

Here’s to a sweet revenge week ahead of us.