:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62644781/usa_today_10682067.0.jpg)
What: Phoenix Suns host Miami Heat
When: Friday night, 7:00 PM
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix
TV: Fox Sports Arizona
Radio: 98.7 FM
The Miami Heat have lost 9 of their last 13 games, while the Phoenix Suns have lost 21 of their 25 this season. Resistible force meets movable object.
Heat
Even without Goran Dragic, the struggling Heat have won two of their last three games, including wins over the Jazz and the Pelicans. But they’ve also recently lost to the Hawks and the LeVert-less Nets.
Now on Friday, the Heat will be without two other starters — Wayne Ellington and Hassan Whiteside — both for “personal” reasons. But word is that Goran Dragic (swollen right knee) will finally be able to return to the lineup against the Suns.
The Heat have struggled this year, but have gotten good contributions from leading scorer Josh Richardson (19.3 points per game) and a handful of 10-12 points per game scorers in an interchangeable lineup.
On the defensive end, Bam Adebayo has been a big-man revelation with the ability to guard just about any position, and the Heat overall have the league’s 13th ranked defense.
Suns
It’s all about whether Devin Booker or T.J. Warren will return to the lineup (update: they won’t). Without them, the offense has no direction and not a single player who can be counted on each night to score more points than field goal attempts.
Simply no answers for the Suns without their two best scorers.
Prediction
A healthy Suns team could definitely compete with these Heat, with or without Dragic, but a depleted Suns team just needs to try to score double digits in the first quarter.
Heat 115, Suns 93