Heat-Pistons preview: Can they avoid a letdown on Dwyane Wade's night?

The Miami Heat return home at 1-1 with a chance to bounce over .500 when they take on the winless Detroit Pistons Monday night at Kaseya Center.

After dropping their home opener, the Heat went into Charlotte and beat the Hornets, looking much more like the squad we saw in the preseason. The offense had better spacing, the defense forced more turnovers and Jimmy Butler was the best player on the floor.

Will Miami build on Saturday’s win or slip back into bad habits?

The Pistons can't be overlooked

Though these Pistons (0-3) are winless, they should not be taken lightly. They have been in most of their games and lost to the Boston Celtics on Saturday by only six points. 

Point guard Cade Cunningham is playing like an All-Star and Jaden Ivey is averaging 21.7 points over his first three games. New coach J.B. Bickerstaff has them organized, and Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris have added more professionalism to one of the league’s youngest rosters.

Dwyane Wade night

Following the statue reveal, the Heat will honor Wade with an extended halftime that will feature speeches from Wade and others during Monday’s game.

When the Heat honored Pat Riley at halftime of their home opener against the Magic, they looked noticeably worse in the second half and lost the game. The Heat hope to avoid a similar outcome this time.

Projected rotations and injury report

The Heat will start their usual lineup of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Butler, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo.

After that, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is first off the bench when he subs in for Butler midway through the first quarter. Duncan Robinson and Thomas Bryant come in soon after. Against the Hornets, coach Erik Spoelstra settled on Alec Burks as the ninth man, playing him over Dru Smith and Haywood Highsmith.

The Heat will be without Kevin Love, who is away from the team for personal reasons. Kel’el Ware will return after his one-game absence (illness) but figures to be behind Bryant in the center rotation. Josh Christopher is on G League assignment as part of his two-way contract.

The Pistons will notably be without second-year forward Ausar Thompson, who is their best option to guard Butler. 

How to watch

FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports) and NBA League Pass