Hawks vs Heat: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More
The Atlanta Hawks will be looking to even the season series against the Miami Heat at two-apiece when the teams meet in Miami on Wednesday evening.
But it will be a tall task for the Hawks, who will likely be without the services of star guard Joe Johnson for another game with an injured knee.
Miami may have injury concerns of their own after Dwyane Wade left Tuesday's game against the New Jersey Nets in the first half with an ankle injury, though he is expected to play this evening.
But hey, injuries aside, this should still prove to be an exciting game. Chris Bosh and LeBron James still play for the Heat, after all, and nobody in the NBA has been as good as the Hawks' Josh Smith in the past week.
This one should be fun.
Where: AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida.
When: 7:30 p.m.
Watch: NBATV (National); Sun Sports (Miami); Sport-South Atlanta (Atlanta)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass, prices start at $29.95 per month
Betting Line: MIAMI (-12) from Vegas.com
Key Injuries
Atlanta: Al Horford (pectoral, out); Jason Collins (elbow, out); Willie Green (back, out); Joe Johnson (knee, expected to be out)
Miami: Dwyane Wade (ankle, expected to play)
What They're Saying
The Heat need to reemphasize scoring in the paint, says Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald:
"The Heat wants to return to attacking the basket. Miami is 3-0 this season (and 13-4 in the past two seasons) when James and Wade record double-figure free-throw attempts. Miami has scored at least 50 points in the paint in 10 games this season, or one less than all of last season.
“We never want to have a large amount of jump shots and a small amount of attacks to the paint,” Wade said. “Now there’s different reasons why certain things happen, but it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day we want to make sure we have at least enough attempts going to the basket to put pressure on the defense.”
"
Most Important Player to Watch: Chris Bosh
Bosh provided a much-needed presence in the paint last evening against the New Jersey Nets, scoring 20 points (though he only had two rebounds). His presence inside is vital.
With him out of the lineup, the Heat were outperformed in the paint in losses to the Utah Jazz (outscored inside 52-38) and Los Angeles Lakers (outscored inside 42-40).
With Dwyane Wade leaving the game against the Nets on Tuesday evening on an injured ankle, the possibility remains that he will be limited against the Hawks. If that's the case, the team will need to rely on Bosh for offense even more than usual.
Key Matchup: Chris Bosh vs. Josh Smith
I would imagine these two would be spending a lot of time against each other, and it will have a huge outcome on this game.
I've already outlined Bosh's importance to the Heat above, but that section easily could have been about Josh Smith, who has been huge for the Hawks since Joe Johnson went down with injury (and really, for most of the year).
His line this season is awesome: 16.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.6 APG and 2.1 BPG. And he's been on fire recently, averaging 27 points and 13.3 rebounds in his last three games.
Pay very close attention to Bosh and Smith in this one.
Prediction
Atlanta is all kinds of beat up and if Wade is able to play on his ankle, the Heat are at full strength. Look for Miami to take this one, 104-91.
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