Inside The Heat

How To Watch Miami Heat-New Orleans Pelicans, Lineups, Injury Report, Betting Lines

Shandel Richardson

Dec 16, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) talks to forward Jimmy Butler (22) in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Dec 16, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) talks to forward Jimmy Butler (22) in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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Game time: 7:30 p.m., Kaseya Center, Miami


TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Betting line: Heat +2

VITALS: The Heat and Pelicans meet for the first of two regular season matchups. Last season, the teams split the series, 1-1, with each team winning on the road. Miami has currently won seven of their last eight against New Orleans. The HEAT are 26-21 all-time versus the Pelicans
during the regular season, including 17-7 in home games and 9-14 in road games. The Heat are coming off an emotional victory against the Houston Rockets, where Tyler Herro and Amen Thompson got into a scuffle near the end of the game.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Duncan Robinson

G Tyler Herro

C Bam Adebayo

F Jimmy Butler

F Kevin Love

PELICANS

F Trey Murphy III

F Herb Jones

C Yves Missi

G Dejounte Murray

G C.J. McCollum

INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Dru Smith: Out - Achilles

Josh Richardson: Out - Heel

Terry Rozier: Out - Suspension

Keshad Johnson: Questionable - Two-way

Duncan Robinson: Questionable - Foot

PELICANS

Zion Williamson: Out - Hamstring

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: Questionable - Ankle

Jose Alvarado: Doubtful - Hamstring

Brandon Ingram: Out - Ankle

Karlo Matkovic: Out: Back

QUOTABLE

Heat forward Jimmy Butler on trade speculation: "But right now, I'm here. So, I'm going to make the most of it. I am going to compete, and I am going to win. And that's all that I've got. It's a lot of talk. And it is a lot of noise, which I'm cool with. It doesn't bother me at all. I love that. I thrive in that. But it keeps all y'all wondering. It does. It keeps the world wondering, to where you've got to keep coming back and asking me about something. I like it. It's good to be talked about. Even better to be wanted, though. Remember that."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here