The Miami Heat began one of their longest road trips of the season with a promising start in Phoenix, but it didn’t end well. Now, Miami moves on to Denver on Friday night for the second leg of their six-game journey.
The Heat held a 15-point lead over the Suns in the third quarter on Wednesday night but ultimately fell 115-112. This marked their second consecutive loss and third in the last four games, a frustrating run that might prompt lineup changes.
Miami’s starters have been outscored by 16.6 points per 100 possessions, according to the Miami Herald. In the second half on Wednesday, coach Erik Spoelstra played Haywood Highsmith with the starters instead of Nikola Jovic. Highsmith scored 19 points and defended Kevin Durant, allowing Bam Adebayo to guard Jusuf Nurkic. Highsmith might continue to see minutes with the starters after not playing in two of the first six games.
While Jovic is a bigger and more talented scorer, he has struggled with his shooting from deep this season, hitting just 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. He prefers to stay in the starting lineup despite these struggles.
The need for a big lineup against Denver is reduced with power forward Aaron Gordon out for multiple weeks due to a right calf strain. Jamal Murray, who has missed the last three games while in concussion protocol, is questionable for Friday.
The Nuggets have won three in a row and five of their last six games, with the bench becoming more impactful. With two starters out, the rotation has changed. On Wednesday night, Peyton Watson started at power forward and made a game-saving block on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to secure a two-point win over Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook, who signed in the offseason to lead the reserves, has been starting in place of Murray. He scored 21 and 29 points in the last two games and appears more comfortable in Denver’s system after eight games. He also had a key block against Toronto on Monday to seal the win.
