Wizards Know Your Opponent Q&A: Miami Heat
The Washington Wizards are facing the Miami Heat tonight in a battle they’re seeking to win to get back on track after losing a shocker on Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Wizards will also be celebrating the return of the “Big Three” Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, and Gilbert Arenas. With both of these reasons combined, seems like a must-win, right? However, the Heat are not going to let that happen easily.
Joining us in this edition of Know Your Opponent to give us some perspective on Miami leading up to this matchup is Inside the Heat writer and managing editor Shandel Richardson.
For Wizards fans that might not be in tune with the state of the Heat, what is your current assessment of the team?
The Heat are still searching for their identity, especially on defense. Offensively, the biggest challenge has been finding a consistent No. 2 scorer behind Jimmy Butler. Tyler Herro has done a solid job when healthy and so has Bam Adebayo but both need to become more consistent. Butler can't carry the offensive load all season.
What will be the biggest challenge for the Heat in facing the Wizards?
The biggest challenge for the Heat now is staying healthy. Tyler Herro, Victor Oladipo and Omer Yurtseven all did not make the trip because of injuries. Center Bam Adebayo did not play in Wednesday's loss to the Toronto Raptors, so having enough available bodies during this trip will be an issue.
Who do you deem as the key matchup in this game?
The biggest key for the Heat is if they have enough size to match the Wizards. The Heat are thin up front and rebounding is always an issue. They start an undersized center in Adebayo and they're lacking at power forward.
The Heat seem to be finding a rhythm based on their last few games, what do they need to do to have success against the Wizards?
The best chance for the Heat to have success against the Wizards is getting contributions from the role players. Max Strus and Gabe Vincent off the bench need to have solid games.
What is your game prediction?
The Heat's depth should be enough to hold off the Wizards. Heat 101, Wizards 95.
