The Miami Heat face the, 20-46, Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. While this game, on the surface, appears to be one that the Miami Heat should easily be able to handle, that was the thought heading into a matchup between these two teams a few weeks ago.
Back on Friday April the 16th, the Miami Heat were set to close a road trip against the T-Wolves in Minnesota. After dropping the previous two games to the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets, this was their chance to get right against what was supposed to be an easier opponent.
It’s a given fact that they can put up points, which was something highlighted going into the game as a reason to proceed with caution for the Heat, but the Miami Heat allowed them to do so to a tune of 119 points.
With that game in the rearview, it must not be forgotten heading into their Friday night contest. That’s the first thing.
The Miami Heat got beat by Minnesota a few weeks back, so, hopefully that’s still fresh on their minds.
The Minnesota Timberwolves can beat you if you are the Miami Heat, so you have to keep that in mind. They have already done it.
With that though, if you are keeping an eye on the rest of the league, then you know that Anthony Edwards is going nuclear on a near-nightly basis for them. The number one overall pick from this past year’s draft is averaging 18.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists and on a steadily improving 32.8 percent from distance.
The guy is a problem. If you don’t believe it, his 42 point, six rebound, and seven assists game from Wednesday might nail it home.
Lastly to think about as the Miami Heat head into Friday’s contest is the fact that they are dead in the middle of a playoff positioning race that will likely come down to the very last game. With two consecutive contests against the Boston Celtics following Friday night’s game, the Miami Heat don’t have any room for error.
They need to handle their business against the teams they are supposed to beat, like the Timberwolves, because games against an even struggling Celtics squad will be tough. These are all things to think about and hopefully the Miami Heat are, as they prepare to avenge an ugly loss from three weeks ago.