Heat at Pistons
The Miami Heat continue to cling to postseason hopes as they enter Saturday’s game at the Detroit Pistons with a half-game lead for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Heat aren’t exactly building momentum as they’ve lost five of seven and their starting backcourt of Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade is dealing with various issues.
Wade has a bruised knee that kept him out the second half of Thursday’s
loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers but will reportedly be available to play
Saturday.The good news for Miami is Hassan Whiteside returned to starting lineup Thursday after missing three games the week before and coming off the bench in his return on Tuesday due to a right hand laceration and posted 17 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes. He’ll face a solid matchup against Detroit center Andre Drummond, who had 14 points, 22 rebounds and matched his career high with six blocks Friday night in a narrow loss to the Chicago Bulls. Detroit has lost two straight in its quest to win a 30th game after the Pistons finished with 29 each of the last two seasons.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HEAT (34-41): Wade scored 40 points against the visiting Pistons when these teams met Sunday, a 109-102 win by the Heat. The biggest surprise in the game may have been the season-high 16 points scored by James Ennis, a rookie out of Long Beach State who has seen his playing time skyrocket the last five games. Another rookie, Tyler Johnson out of Fresno State, has also seen increased responsibilities the last five games and he’s responded with 33 points in that span.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (29-47): Reggie Jackson had a big game against the Heat last week as well, scoring 31 points, his most since he was traded to Detroit in late February. He also faced Miami in January when he was still with the Oklahoma City Thunder and scored 16 points and is coming off a solid offensive performance against the Bulls, finishing with 22 points and nine assists to help offset eight turnovers. Jackson will need to continue carrying the team offensively as second-leading scorer Greg Monroe is expected to miss his 10th straight game with a knee injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami G Mario Chalmers needs six assists to tie LeBron James for third-most in franchise history (1,980).
2. The Heat have used 30 different starting lineups, tied for the most in club history.
3. Miami is 3-33 when trailing after three quarters this season.