There is always palpable excitement for basketball fans whenever two elite teams go head-to-head. And when it features teams with the best records in the league, the anticipation is on a potential NBA Finals level.
With less than 20 games left in the regular season, the focus has now shifted to playoff seeding. After a season full of twists and turns, the Miami Heat (44-22) and Phoenix Suns (52-13) are at the top of the heap, playing their best basketball.
What’s up with the Heat?
The big story coming out of South Beach is the return of Victor Oladipo. The two-time All-Star is back in the Heat lineup for the first time in nearly a year following surgery on his right quadriceps tendon. He played under 15 minutes against the Houston Rockets but immediately made an impact with his 11-point, 4-assist outing.
After a season riddled with injuries and virus outbreaks, we are finally seeing the Heat slowly return to full strength. Tyler Herro is playing exceptional basketball and should be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Bam Adebayo has been balling, showing flashes of his dominance during the Heat’s 2020 runner-up season. And of course, Jimmy Butler is having an All-Star season as well.
The only players left on Miami’s injury report are Caleb Martin, who’s listed as questionable because of an Achilles injury, and Markieff Morris, who remains out with a hurt neck since his on-court altercation with Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
Are the Heat poised to make their return to the NBA Finals? They have reloaded their roster in a myriad of ways hoping to patch up all of their weakness in the past two seasons. A matchup against the Suns this late into the season will be a good gauge of where they are ahead of the playoffs.
What’s up with the Suns?
The Suns have been the best team this season and they continue to win despite getting the injury bug late into the season. Chris Paul has been out because of a right thumb fracture while Devin Booker is not back yet because of health protocols.
But the Suns know how to win no matter who’s in the lineup. There was Cam Johnson and his big night against the New York Knicks earlier this week. And even though the sweet-shooting forward has been out for the last two games because of a quad issue, Phoenix has remained competitive with its vaunted roster. In the Suns’ last game against the Magic, it was Mikal Bridges and his game-saving block that sealed the victory.
Even if the Suns go up against a loaded Heat team, you know it’s still going to be a dog fight. The system of Coach Monty Williams has allowed the team to play their brand of basketball regardless of who’s on the floor.
The last time these two teams met, the Suns were blown out of the water with the Heat coming away with a 123-100 victory. Miami was short-handed in that January game with 11 players on the inactive list, including Butler. Fortunately, Herro and the rest of the Heat had the hot hand, dropping 22 3-pointers.
Where to watch
Watch the potential Finals matchup between the Suns and the Heat, at 8:30 AM on NBA League Pass.
If you want to check in on Filipino-American Jalen Green, who is on a scoring binge lately, he and the Rockets take on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, at 9:00 AM on NBA TV Philippines via Smart GigaPlay and Cignal TV.
