The Miami Heat look to redeem themselves after two embarrassing losses. Does NBA 2k think they have what it takes to beat the hobbled Mavericks at home?
Back in December, the Miami Heat traveled to Dallas in what was billed as a heavyweight matchup between the surprise grind it out Heat and the Mavs, spearheaded by Luka Doncic. Unfortunately, Doncic only played two minutes in that game before exiting with an injury.
The Heat went on to win that game, but it didn’t feel genuine. In this league though, a win is a win, I guess.
This time around, it’s more of the same. Since then, Dallas has lost Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson, Willie Cauley-Stein, and possibly Doncic due to injury. The team is really banged up, but if they can get enough support from the role players surrounding Kristaps Porzingis and Doncic with Head Coach Rick Carlisle calling the plays, they can beat anybody.
Per 4:30 NBA injury report, @luka7doncic (left thumb sprain) and Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) are questionable for tomorrow's game against Miami. But Rick Carlisle told us the soonest Cauley-Stein will rejoin Mavs is Monday.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 27, 2020
The Heat need to look alive on Friday, as they cannot afford to lose three straight. They had a half-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers until Thursday night, but now the only thing keeping them in the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed is the tie-breaker they own between the two teams.
The simulation team had great success with the rotation I set for the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so I left it exactly the same. While checking everything, I noticed that Duncan Robinson had no hot zones. As a matter of fact, he had a cold zone in one of his favorite deep spots to shoot from, so I made sure each 3-point zone was hot but left everything else neutral.
Every matchup is recorded for authenticity and uploaded to YouTube, so if you want to see the simulation for yourself, the latest upload to my channel will have the footage uninterrupted. There you’ll be able to see the adjustments I made to the rotation of each team and the players overall.
Starting Lineup
Miami Heat
Point guard, Kendrick Nunn
Shooting guard, Duncan Robinson
Small forward, Jimmy Butler
Power forward, Kelly Olynyk
Center, Bam Adebayo
Dallas Mavericks
Point Guard, Luka Doncic
Shooting guard, Seth Curry
Small forward, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Power forward, Dorian Finney-Smith
Center, Kristaps Porzingis
Outcome
Miami Heat 109, Dallas Mavericks 99
This matchup had everything fans of both teams were looking for, a back and forth high scoring first quarter. The second period showed a bit more restraint from both sides and when I say restraint, I mean the Heat tightening up on defense, holding the Mavericks to just 19 points while scoring 27 for themselves.
The Miami Heat led going into the break by five. Despite the score favoring Miami, neither team really had an advantage stats wise. Whoever planned to win, they’d have to step up and take it for themselves.
Tonight, the Heat showed their opponent who’s boss in the second half. They scored the first six points of the third quarter to secure a double-digit lead and never really looked back. Miami lost the 3rd quarter, 27-26, but that doesn’t matter if you’re already ahead as long as you don’t give up the lead.
The fourth quarter was close, with Dallas threatening to take the lead, but they weren’t able to convert down the stretch. Miami secured its’ ten-point victory with 20 seconds remaining and that was all she wrote. The fat lady sang a tune to a tune of a Miami Heat victory.
Player stats
Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo – 30 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Jimmy Butler – 18 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 block
Duncan Robinson – 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Kendrick Nunn – 12 points, 2 assists, 3 steals
Jae Crowder – 11 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Dishonorable mention: Goran Dragic – 5 points on 2-of-10 shooting, 6 assists
Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic – 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Seth Curry – 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Kristaps Porzingis – 16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks
Tim Hardaway Jr. – 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Maxi Kleber – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Once again, the Miami Heat sim team was able to take care of business against a lower-ranked team. It sounds silly to say, but it could have been much worse.
Miami held Luka Doncic in check. It’s hard to stop superstars in this league, but if the real Heat have any chance of winning, this is the performance they’ll need out of Adebayo. Oh, and perhaps the triple-double from Jimmy Butler would be nice. Cross your fingers and bunker down Heat fans, this may be a wild ride!