Miami, FL
Jumpshots Galore: Keys for the Miami Heat to overcome the Boston Celtics
The Miami Heat will face off against the Boston Celtics, who are ahead of the Heat by half a game in the Eastern Conference standings, on Friday night.
Here are some things they will need to hone in on to end up on the other side of the game with a win:
Be careful what you wish for: The Heat, for several years now, no matter what defensive scheme they’re deploy, are going to give up a high volume amount of threes. The Celtics, who take the fourth-highest amount of shots from three, will gladly take the Heat up on their offer. Unlike the Brooklyn Nets, who also like to take a ton of threes, the Celtics convert them at a decent clip.
The Heat will have a lot to be wary of in this aspect, as eight or nine of their ten rotation players are either high-volume three-point shooters or threats to ge them up. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Josh Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh combine to shoot around 43 threes per game.
The Celtics take the lowest percentage of shots coming at the rim, with the lowest free throw rate and eighth-lowest percentage of shots coming from the short mid-range, but make them at a high level. Additionally, they take the second-highest amount of long mid-rangers and also convert those at an elite clip.
Time to break the slump: The Heat will need to hit some threes if they want to win this game. On defense, the Celtics, like the Heat, are going to play the gaps and allow opponents to take shots beyond the arc. They give up the eighth-highest percentage of opponent shots coming from three, (Heat sixth-highest).
Since Dec. 3rd (the first loss in their recently snapped five-game losing streak), the Heat have converted just 29.4 percent of their threes. Although they got away with another stinker from three against the Nets on Thursday, that type of shooting will likely not cut it against a Celtics defense that allows the second-lowest percentage of opponent shots at the rim.
The Celtics foul at one of the highest rates in the league, and with the Heat’s preference of taking shots in the paint combined with their recent stretch of rough three-point shooting, they will need to hit their free throws in this one. This has been a struggle for the Heat, who rank among the bottom 10 in free throw percentage in the NBA.
Possession Battle: A big part of the Celtics’ somewhat unexpected early-season success has been their ability to consistently win this aspect of the game.
They have the fourth-best offensive rating in the league, and, on top of their high-level shotmaking, they have the best turnover percentage and the fifth-best offensive rebound percentage in the league. They also do a good job of turning teams over.
The Celtics’ weak point in this aspect has been their defensive rebounding, another similarity they share with the Heat, giving up the fourth-highest offensive rebound percentage. The offensive glass is not exactly the Heat’s strong suit, but with Kel’el Ware likely starting again, they will have the opportunity to out-size them and, ideally, get extra opportunities.
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
An investigation is underway at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex after the sheriff’s office said a man was shot by his girlfriend after a “heated dispute” early Wednesday morning.
Few details have been released, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place at an apartment complex located off Northwest 7th Avenue.
The sheriff’s office said that a man became involved in a “heated dispute” with his girlfriend, and she shot him in the right arm.
He was rushed to a hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in critical condition.
The woman is in custody.
The identities of those who were involved have not yet been released.
No other information was available.
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, YES Network (Brooklyn)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM (Brooklyn)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
C Nic Claxton
F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
Trevor Keels: Available – G League
Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
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