Hoping to join the club

The Miami Heat are steadily positioning themselves among the Eastern Conference’s top dogs. Heading into the season, that club only included the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and the defending champion Toronto Raptors, who had a shaky claim after Kawhi Leonard’s departure but have proven themselves to belong.

Through blue collar defense, team-oriented offense, and surprising play by their youngsters, the Heat have jumped into a 12-4 record, which have them flipping back-and-forth in the third and fourth spots.

The Heat offense is mostly right around the league averages, but defensively, they are seventh in points allowed (104.3), second in defensive efficiency, and first in opponent three-point shooting (31%).

Adding to the team’s confidence is how it embarrassed the Houston Rockets in the meeting earlier this month, where Miami decisively won, 129-100, and led as much as 41 points.

In the domination, the defense held the Rockets to just 14-for-41 shooting in the first half and the offense had six players scoring in double figures while also knocking down 18 three-pointers, their second-highest this season.

Hungry for revenge

The Houston Rockets saw that ugly, 29-point defeat to the Heat as a wake-up call. After the blowout, they raced into an eight-game winning streak that also featured James Harden drop 42.1 points and 7.5 assists per game.

There’s one concerning problem, though. Although the Rockets are fuelled with motivation, momentum isn’t on their side the way it was last week, as they are heading into Thursday’s game as losers of three straight. The skid has slipped them into an 11-6 record, a bit far considering how they almost tied for the best record in the Western Conference just this past weekend.

The good news is at least they’ll be playing at home and their bread and butter, James Harden and a three-point heavy offense, are still massive threats. Harden comes in averaging a league-best 37.9 points per contest, while the offense is boasting the fourth-ranked offense (118.7 PPG) and first-ranked three-point attack (15.2 threes per game).

Clint Capela vs. the Heat interior

Houston’s man in the middle, Clint Capela, is in for an interesting clash with the Heat big men. He’s rebounding as of late is second to none (20.4 RPG in his last seven) and his counterparts are collectively allowing the second-fewest boards in the league.

PREDICTION:

The Rockets jump into an early lead and eventually get their revenge, 121-106.

The Heat’s dogged defense should keep James Harden from getting comfortable, though. He probably won’t be able to top 38.5 points against them.