Miami Heat: 3 hot factors going into the Atlanta Hawks game
By Trey Flynn
The Miami Heat are 19-18 and are coming off a satisfying 115-109 win against the Washington Wizards Friday night. A game where we saw Justise Winslow have a career night and Hassan Whiteside prove that he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
The Miami Heat have solidified the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference – as of right now – and are heading to Georgia to play the Atlanta Hawks before their 3-game home stretch next week after their close win against the Washington Wizards last night.
In that 115-109 win, the Heat saw Justise Winslow have a career night in assists (10 dimes), Hassan Whiteside tear up Thomas Bryant, a multi-faceted comeback game from James Johnson, and of course, Dwyane Wade to seal the win for South Florida with 9 points in the fourth quarter.
If you’d like to read more about that win against the Wizards, click here.
Miami has been playing awful hot lately, winning 8 out of their past 10 games, currently feeling pretty good on a two game win streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Wizards. With their only two losses being to the Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves with a – 5.5 point differential.
In fact, only the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets have played better than the Heat in the past 10 games, having a very nice record of 9-1. The Heat are tied with the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers with the best recent record of 8-2, so everything is looking up for Miami at the moment.
As for the Heat’s next opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, they are currently trying to find themselves in a league overcrowded by middling and tanking teams.
The 12th seeded Hawks are no doubt trying to win a ticket to the Zion Williamson show come the 2019 NBA draft. However, they have a plethora of young talent that they need to get playing time for in order to improve their talented youth, and the problem is, their young guys aren’t playing that poorly.
The Hawks are 11-27 this season, but they are 5-5 in their past 10 games and are hoping to squeeze out another lucky win against the Heat. And yes, if you forgot, Miami lost 123-118 in an embarrassing game to Atlanta earlier this season.
In that loss, the Hawks’ coveted rookie Trae Young had one of his best performances of the season with 24 points, 15 assists, and 6 rebounds. Leading the way to dismantle the fantastic game of Josh Richardson (32 points on 10-18 shooting), and prove to the Eastern Conference that Atlanta may be a serious threat in the near future.
But not quite yet, as the Hawks ended up losing their next 10 games after their late-win against the Heat. Moreover, you can expect a fiery Heat team to get some payback in Atlanta, but again, don’t take this team for granted like last time.
Miami Heat Projected Starting Lineup:
- PG, Justise Winslow
- SG, Josh Richardson
- SF, Rodney McGruder
- PF, James Johnson
- C, Hassan Whiteside
Injury report: PG, Goran Dragic OUT with minor knee surgery until All-Star break.
Atlanta Hawks Projected Starting Lineup:
- PG, Trae Young
- SG, Kevin Huerter
- SF, Daniel Hamilton
- PF, John Collins
- C, Dewayne Dedmon
Injury report: SG, Kent Bazemore OUT; SF, Taurean Prince DTD; Miles Plumlee DTD
Here are the 3 hot factors going into the Miami Heat vs. the Atlanta Hawks.