Miami Heat: 3 things to watch for against the Oklahoma City Thunder

As the Miami Heat prepare to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, a look at three things to watch for in Wednesday night’s matchup.

The Miami Heat have two games remaining to their regular season, starting with Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder. They can earn the fourth seed with a win or fall as low as the fifth seed if they lose both games and the Indiana Pacers win out.

Miami’s coming off of a statement win over the Pacers, an absolute routing–114.92. Jimmy Butler may have not shot the ball well, but continues to get to the free-throw line and stuff the state sheets elsewhere. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the win.

Bam Adebayo was aggressive early on, which helped to push the Heat ahead early. And veteran point guard Goran Dragic thrived as a newly appointed member of the Miami starting five. That being said, a look at three things to watch in their matchup with the Thunder.

What’s the Starting Lineup?

The biggest story to the Heat’s six-game stint thus far inside the bubble has been their ever-changing starting lineup. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has now used four different starting lineups inside the bubble with both Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Herro seeing fluidity in their roles.

The Heat’s latest lineup worked wonders but had its downsides. With Dragic as the starting point guard, there was a more consistent flow to the offense starting out. But he’s mostly been used this year as a spark plug off the bench in the sixth man role.

Without Dragic coming off the pine, Miami’s second unit and reserve lineups struggled to not only move the ball but get it through the basket. It will be interesting to see how Spoelstra combats this newest development given Kendrick Nunn is still away in isolation.

Will Gabe Vincent See More Run?

With both Nunn and Dragic having missed time in the last few games, we’ve seen somewhat of a changeup at point guard. Herro even started in their loss to the Phoenix Suns.

But elsewhere, G-League standout Gabe Vincent has seen some time on the floor as well. Yet that role decreased when Dragic made it back onto the floor for Miami. In that loss to the Suns, Vincent saw 19 minutes on the floor, finishing with four points and a pair of assists.

Then in their win over the Pacers, he was brought in solely for garbage time and a total of three and a half minutes. But the 24-year old point guard knocked down one of his two three-point attempts and got a steal late in the fourth quarter.

Vincent’s proven ready when called upon, and after what he showed in the G-League is definitely worth giving a more extended look. If the game ends up a blowout on either end, look for coach Spoelstra to call his number once again as they prepare for the playoffs.

Can the Heat’s Shooters Return to Form?

Even in defeat, the Pacers were very lucky in their matchup against Miami. It would have been an absolute blowout if the Heat were even hitting an average mark from behind the arc.

A number of the team’s shooters went cold against Indiana, with the team finishing out having made just 13 of their 40 attempts. Even Duncan Robinson, so often thought of as the league’s best shooter from deep, struggled. He finished having made four of 10 attempts from deep.

Indiana was even worse, which kept things even for Miami, as the Pacers only hit 10 of their 35 attempts. The Heat are a top-10 team in every three-point statistic this season. Watch for them to remind the league and the Thunder of that when these two teams face off.

With two games remaining in the regular season, and the Miami Heat’s seeding at stake, watch for coach Spoelstra and his guys to take this matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder seriously. Tip-off is at 8:00 pm est, with coverage being provided by NBA League Pass.