The Brooklyn Nets are still paying the price of Kevin Durant’s absence and an 11-game losing streak from the beginning of the year. The Nets are currently right in the league and will visit the Miami Heat which can easily be the first-round match up in this year’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat has been the most consistent team in the Eastern Conference this season and they are currently on top of the standings with a 47-25 record, 2.5 games ahead of the competition.
The main reason for the Heat’s success is the team spirit and playing tough on both ends of the floor.
Jimmy Butler is the leader of the team averaging 21.1 points, 6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and only 19.1% from the three-point line. Another player that has a major impact on the Heat’s game is center Bam Adebayo who records 19 points and 10.3 rebounds per game on 54.5% shooting from the field.
Tyler Herro is one of the frontrunners for the Sixth Man of the Year award as the third-year guard is playing consistently well coming off the bench averaging 21.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.6% from deep.
Good news for the Heat is the return of former All-Star Victor Oladipo who recently made his season debut after missing significant time with a knee injury.
The Heat are the fourth-best defensive team in the league allowing only 104.9 points on 44.4% shooting from the field. Miami is second in the league allowing 41.9 rebounds per game.
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have entered the season as the top contender to win the NBA championship this season but no one could have expected what went down.
The Nets came into this season hoping to bounce back after last season’s game 7 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs but things didn’t go well for Steve Nash’s team.
First Kyrie Irving declined to get a vaccine that is still an issue which is not allowing him to play in the state of New York meaning that the point guard is available only for the road games.
Kevin Durant went down with an injury at the beginning of 2022 and the Nets simply couldn’t win a game without him, losing 11 straight.
Just when things seemed that cannot go any worse, James Harden went out with a statement that he is unhappy in Brooklyn and demanded a trade. Things worked out pretty fast as the Nets GM Sean Marks made a deal to trade the 2019 MVP to the Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.
Ben Simmons still hasn’t made the debut for the Nets and is pretty unlikely that he will this season as the Australian is recovering from a back injury. Curry and Drummond, on the other hand, have made an immediate impact on the team and proved that they will be a valuable asset for the team when the playoff time comes.
Speaking of the playoffs, the Nets, who were on top of the conference for the most of first two months of the season, are now eighth in the conferenece with a 38-34 record and have a lot of catching up to do in order to climb among the top 6 teams in the conference and avoid the play-in tournament.
The Nets are ninth in the league averaging 112.1 points per game and are ranked 19th defensively with 111.8 allowed points per game.
Our tip for the Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets game
As things stand at the moment, this matchup may happen in the first round of the playoffs even though, when healthy, both Miami and Brooklyn look capable of winning the East.
What makes the Heat a dangerous team is consistency and the die-hard style of play they implement. No played averages more than 21 points per game and it seems like everyone on the team knows their role and a doing a great job playing it. The Heat have a great ball movement and multiple shooting treats.
Butler and Adebayo are among the best duos in the league and what makes them outstanding is their work on the defensive end. Anyway, Kevin Durant and the Nets are among the best offensive teams in the league and there is no defence that can hold them down on a good night.
KD is the second-best scorer in the league at the moment and will do his part in Miami but a lot will depend on Kyrie Irving’s performance. The Point guard recently scored 50 against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and is ready for another hot night in Miami.
The Nets need this win more and that will prove to be crucial as KD and Irving will lead the Nets to a win against the best team in the conference.