The Miami HEAT face the Chicago Bulls Friday night at United Center. The HEAT fell to the Bulls 105-100 in their last meeting on December 10. Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM. Television coverage on FOX Sports Sun begins at 7:30 PM. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: What stuck out to you about Miami's comeback win over the Brooklyn Nets?
Couper Moorhead: That it was some unusual, relatively speaking of course, suspects helping to lead the charge. Yes, Goran Dragic made some big plays and Dion Waiters hit some big shots, but it was Willie Reed and Okaro White who were the difference between winning and losing in this one. Reed was playing with exceptionally high energy, as he was at the start of the six-game road trip, while making life as difficult as possible for Brook Lopez. White, meanwhile, was something of a low-usage revelation. Since they signed him in Summer League, brought him to training camp and signed him to a contract recently, Miami clearly likes what they see in White and Wednesday was a perfect opportunity for the rest of us to see it as well. Like Rodney McGruder, White was playing with a high, competitive motor, making athletic defensive plays all over the court, drawing fouls just by attacking the offensive glass, running out in transition and even hitting some massive threes at the end of the game. We're a long way away from seeing just what White's potential is with the ball in his hands, but Miami appears to have found another guy who will just not stop coming at you. The HEAT, it seems, have a type.
Joe Beguiristain: While Dion Waiters hit another huge three in crunch time to essentially seal the deal, Okaro White and Willie Reed were the two guys who really stuck out to me.
After making some big plays down the stretch against Golden State, White did more of the same against Brooklyn. In fact, the forward played the entire fourth quarter on Wednesday night and tallied five points, three boards, two blocks and an assist in those 12 minutes. Although his clutch 3-pointer with 58.6 seconds remaining put Miami up for good, his impact on the defensive end was even greater. White showed great anticipation on a number of plays and rotated very quickly to help out his teammates.
One of those teammates, Reed, was also fantastic against the Nets. The center absorbed a lot of contact inside and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and a block. His activity and energy was much needed, and like White, he shined on the defensive end. Thanks to Reed's stout defense — he contested a team-high 12 shots — Brook Lopez was held in check after halftime.
In all, it was a valiant effort from the HEAT to fight back and get the win after falling behind by 18 in the third quarter.
2: How have the Bulls been playing lately?
Couper: The Bulls have actually won four of their last seven games and are still a couple of game up as they hold on to the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but after a late-game loss to Atlanta on Wednesday there's been some public friction in and around the locker room with both Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade having their voices heard. Though it's important to note given how much it's dominating the storyline in Chicago, we can't get much into that viewing from afar. What we do know is that one of Chicago's main issues has been a lack of scoring of late as the Bulls rank in the Bottom 5 in the league offensively over the last 10 games.
You might remember the talk of Chicago's hot three-point shooting in the first few weeks of the season, but now they're last in the league in both attempts from deep and three-point percentage. Given how hot Miami has been from the perimeter lately, that could be an area where the HEAT can build an advantage.
Joe: The Bulls have been up and down of late, posting a 4-6 record over their last ten games. Like Coup stated above, a lot of the issues with Chicago are on the offensive end. Outside of Doug McDermott, the team doesn't have many three-point shooters that can stretch the floor and open up the driving lanes for others. Jimmy Butler is obviously capable from downtown, but he has the ball in his hands often and creates off the dribble. In today's NBA, you also need to have spot-up guys on the edges to make defenses pay.
That said, the Bulls have made due thanks to the strong overall play of Butler. The 27-year-old has been on a roll in the month of January, averaging 25.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game in his last 11 outings. When both he and Dwyane Wade are at the top of their game, watch out.
3: What can Miami improve on from their previous losses to Chicago?
Couper: Miami's roster has been so fluid this season it's tough to glean much from a loss in mid-December, but the main thing that stick out is that Miami shot just 5-of-20 from three in a five-point loss. The HEAT were also without the services of both James Johnson and Dion Waiters for that one, with both of them being instrumental pieces of the current five-game winning streak. No, Miami won't have Josh Richardson or Tyler Johnson this time around, but with the HEAT's offense trending upward Friday should be a completely different game.
Joe: In that last matchup with Chicago, Miami fought back to erase a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter. Like on Wednesday, Reed played well and gave maximum effort in the final period against the Bulls on December 10. However, Butler continued to attack the basket and scored 10 points in the fourth (six of which came at the charity stripe) to help his team obtain the win.
While the HEAT ultimately came up short, both Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside had solid performances. Otherwise, there isn't much to take away from that last meeting due to the rotation being different because of injuries.
As long as Miami can keep up its strong play on the defensive end — 100.7 rating over its five-game winning streak — all should be fine.
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