The Brooklyn Nets are still in search of their first win with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving all active. They will try again this Sunday against the banged-up Miami Heat, who are also looking to rebound from a loss.
Catch this game live on Sunday, January 24, at 9 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Brooklyn Nets (9-8, 7-4 at home)
Brooklyn is certainly a hotbed of NBA overreaction after losing back-to-back road games to the Cleveland Cavaliers, of all teams. After losing to the Cavs last Thursday (147-135 OT), the Nets picked up another defeat against the same team on Saturday (125-113).
It’s worth noting that those two losses coincided with the first two games of Kyrie Irving since a short time away from the team due to personal reasons.
However, Irving was fantastic in those contests during which he scored a total of 75 points on above 55 percent shooting from the field. Kevin Durant missed the second game against the Cavs as a precautionary measure for his surgically-repaired Achilles, which means that he’ll be ready to go this Sunday to play the Heat.
Perhaps going back to Brooklyn can get things together for the team. The Nets are 5-1 straight up and 4-2 against the spread in their last six games as the home team.
ROAD TEAM: Miami Heat (6-8, 4-3 on the road)
Miami’s roster looks like an infirmary right now with the injuries the Heat are dealing with. On Friday, the Heat missed the services of Tyler Herro, Avery Bradley, Jimmy Butler, and Meyers Leonard due to different health issues and lost to the Toronto Raptors on the road, 101-81.
The Heat are heading to the meeting with Brooklyn on the heels of a 2-4 record over their last six games. The absences of multiple players, however, have given Kendrick Nunn increased playing time of late, and so far, he’s been stepping up and maximizing his extended minutes.
In fact, Nunn has led Miami in scoring over the team’s last three games. He put up 22.7 points on 58.1 percent shooting over that stretch. The Heat can look forward to torching Brooklyn’s defense that has been lit up by opponents of late.
Brooklyn allowed 1.15 points per possession in its last three games, third-worst in the NBA in that stretch.
Brooklyn opponents have also shot 51.9 percent from the field in those contests. The total has hit the over in five of Miami’s last seven games.
PREDICTIONS:
With Kevin Durant expected back in action, the Nets are ready to go toe-to-toe in a possible shootout with the Heat, who just don’t have enough weapons to keep up with Brooklyn. The Nets win this game, 116-108.
