In a crucial matchup early in the day between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks, the Heat will continue their road trip and look to earn their third straight victory. Miami is just 0.5 games above the seventh-seeded Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings.
The winner of this match will be the difference between sixth and seventh place between each team. They have both won six of their last 10 matches and have achieved impressive victories.
Tyler Herro's exploits allowed the Heat to defeat the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. In a game where offense was hard to come by, Herro's 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting and the game-winner with 0.5 left in the shot clock propelled Miami to victory. Bam Adebayo will look to bounce back in Atlanta, after scoring just 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting in the previous game.
This was one of, if not the worst, offensive outings of Adebayo's 2024-25 season. However, the big man still added 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks. Miami got notable outings from Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Alec Burks.
Jimmy Butler's status will have him remaining OUT, as he was recently shut down for the Heat's next two road games. He is expected to make his planned return on New Year's Day.
The Hawks have their own busy injury report, with their star Trae Young topping the bill as questionable. The announcement is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST this afternoon and televised nationally on NBA TV.
Injury report (at the time of this publication):
Miami Heat:
- Terry Rozier (knee) — PROBABLE
- Pelle Larsson (ankle) — PROBABLE
- Nikola Jovic (ankle) — QUESTIONABLE
- Jimmy Butler (return to conditioning) – OUT
- Josh Richardson (talon) – OUT
- Dru Smith (Achille) – OUT
Atlanta Falcons:
- Trae Young (talon) — QUESTIONNABLE
- Bogdan Bogdanovic (leg) — QUESTIONABLE
- Dyson Daniels (illness) — QUESTIONABLE
- Kobe Bufkin (shoulder) – OUT
- Onyeka Okongwu (genou) – OUT
- Cody Zeller (not with the team) – OUT
Planned start 5 (subject to change):
Miami Heat:
- Tyler Herro, G.
- Duncan Robinson, G.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr, F
- Haywood Highsmith, F.
- Bam Adebayo, C.
Atlanta Falcons:
- Trae Young, G.
- Dyson Daniels, G.
- Jalen Johnson, F.
- Zaccharie Risacher, F
- Clint Capela, C.
Broadcast information:
- Tipoff: 3:00 PM EST
- Television: NBA TV and FanDuel Sports Network Sun (Eric Reid and John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM and HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM and the HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
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