Tonight it's an Atlantic Divison matchup of the last place Heat going to the first place Nets.
-The last meeting on Dec. 14 in Miami was won by the Nets 95-86. After that 9 pt loss the Heat went on that dismal 1 of 6 slide before Riley could get 'em back on track with the 3 game win streak they bring into NJ tonight.
-Heat have been playing better ball as evidenced by:
-Zo's double/doubles in 4 of the last 5 which has allowed his team to out rb the opposition by double digits during the last 3 games.
-I look for a good effort tonight by Miami as this is the first of a 5 game road tour in their next 6. They have been playing better ball of recent but can it last against a Divisonal opponent?
-On the other side.....the big news for the Nets is NO Kenyon "The Thug" Martin tonight. This guy just wants to play street ball as he begins serving ANOTHER 2 game suspension for ANOTHER "flagrant foul" this time against McGrady on Friday.
-On the positive side....for the Nets Rookie Jason Collins stepped in for Martin and scored 18 with 12 rbs during Saturday's 9 pt win at Charlotte. That's 5 more rbs than Martin's seasonal average and 8.5 more rbs than his own seasonal average. This was accomplished on an addition 14 more mins. of floor time for Collins than usual.
-Can the rookie still step it up again for the Nets' second leading scorer? (Van Horn 15.9/gm and Martin 15.8/gm)
-Another factor tonight is the fact Van Horn is scheduled to go after setting out the Hornets game on Friday with a stomach virus. Jefferson replaced him (with 16 pts) as he and Collins combined to get the W at Charlotte. Can they contribute likewise tonight against that tough Miami d?
-On Dec. 14 at Miami the lineups were:
Heat: Jim Jackson 24 pts, Grant, Zo, Jones and Strickland
Nets: Kerry Kittles 27 pts, Martin, Van Horn MacCulloch and Kidd
Scheduled lineups are the same tonight minus Martin.
-On Dec. 14:
Heat shot 51%
Nets shot 46%
In a very close rbing battle of 37 to 39 in favor of the Heat.
-On Dec. 14:
At HT it was the Heat 52 and Nets 48 for an even 100 before the Heat had another typical 2H scoring melt down only to net a mear 34 2H pts.
Both teams struggled during the 4th period of the last affair scoring only 16 each.
-Personally, I believe Martin's defensive abscence helps the Heat tally a few more on their side of the ledger.
-Collins is the real key to figuring this one out. He will be facing a much better defensive team with Grant and Jackson than he did at Charlotte on Firday. How does he handle the pressure?
-Will it be the Jeckal or Hyde Miami team that comes calling tonight?
-Up next for the Nets are the Clips on Thursday in NJ. One would think the Nets put every they've got into tonight's Divisonal game.
-For the Heat they play at home on Thursday vs. Portland......then start a 4 game western road trip in 6 days.
-In the last 4 Heat games they've had at least 1 period of poor shooting/scoring:
GS a 17 pt 3rd and an 18 pt 4th
Bost an 18 pt 3rd
Indy an 11 pt 2nd
Det a 13 pt 3rd
--------------------------------------------------
Lines opened at Nets -5' and 174'
Current line at Net's -5' and 171'
Therefore Will Play:
-over 86 1H<---Hope'n the "off" Heat shooting period comes in 2H like in 3 of their last 4 games
-over 171'<---Think'n the "off" Heat shooting period won't be as bad as the line movement indicates
-Nets -5'<---Knowing it's likely we'll get an "off" Heat shooting period sometime tonight
GLTA and hope Collins has his game face on tonight!
47-28 YTD...1-0 LN ez
-The last meeting on Dec. 14 in Miami was won by the Nets 95-86. After that 9 pt loss the Heat went on that dismal 1 of 6 slide before Riley could get 'em back on track with the 3 game win streak they bring into NJ tonight.
-Heat have been playing better ball as evidenced by:
-Zo's double/doubles in 4 of the last 5 which has allowed his team to out rb the opposition by double digits during the last 3 games.
-I look for a good effort tonight by Miami as this is the first of a 5 game road tour in their next 6. They have been playing better ball of recent but can it last against a Divisonal opponent?
-On the other side.....the big news for the Nets is NO Kenyon "The Thug" Martin tonight. This guy just wants to play street ball as he begins serving ANOTHER 2 game suspension for ANOTHER "flagrant foul" this time against McGrady on Friday.
-On the positive side....for the Nets Rookie Jason Collins stepped in for Martin and scored 18 with 12 rbs during Saturday's 9 pt win at Charlotte. That's 5 more rbs than Martin's seasonal average and 8.5 more rbs than his own seasonal average. This was accomplished on an addition 14 more mins. of floor time for Collins than usual.
-Can the rookie still step it up again for the Nets' second leading scorer? (Van Horn 15.9/gm and Martin 15.8/gm)
-Another factor tonight is the fact Van Horn is scheduled to go after setting out the Hornets game on Friday with a stomach virus. Jefferson replaced him (with 16 pts) as he and Collins combined to get the W at Charlotte. Can they contribute likewise tonight against that tough Miami d?
-On Dec. 14 at Miami the lineups were:
Heat: Jim Jackson 24 pts, Grant, Zo, Jones and Strickland
Nets: Kerry Kittles 27 pts, Martin, Van Horn MacCulloch and Kidd
Scheduled lineups are the same tonight minus Martin.
-On Dec. 14:
Heat shot 51%
Nets shot 46%
In a very close rbing battle of 37 to 39 in favor of the Heat.
-On Dec. 14:
At HT it was the Heat 52 and Nets 48 for an even 100 before the Heat had another typical 2H scoring melt down only to net a mear 34 2H pts.
Both teams struggled during the 4th period of the last affair scoring only 16 each.
-Personally, I believe Martin's defensive abscence helps the Heat tally a few more on their side of the ledger.
-Collins is the real key to figuring this one out. He will be facing a much better defensive team with Grant and Jackson than he did at Charlotte on Firday. How does he handle the pressure?
-Will it be the Jeckal or Hyde Miami team that comes calling tonight?
-Up next for the Nets are the Clips on Thursday in NJ. One would think the Nets put every they've got into tonight's Divisonal game.
-For the Heat they play at home on Thursday vs. Portland......then start a 4 game western road trip in 6 days.
-In the last 4 Heat games they've had at least 1 period of poor shooting/scoring:
GS a 17 pt 3rd and an 18 pt 4th
Bost an 18 pt 3rd
Indy an 11 pt 2nd
Det a 13 pt 3rd
--------------------------------------------------
Lines opened at Nets -5' and 174'
Current line at Net's -5' and 171'
Therefore Will Play:
-over 86 1H<---Hope'n the "off" Heat shooting period comes in 2H like in 3 of their last 4 games
-over 171'<---Think'n the "off" Heat shooting period won't be as bad as the line movement indicates
-Nets -5'<---Knowing it's likely we'll get an "off" Heat shooting period sometime tonight
GLTA and hope Collins has his game face on tonight!
47-28 YTD...1-0 LN ez
