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Red-hot Heat face Rockets in Houston Tuesday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 2/2/2016  at  10:46:00 AM
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MIAMI HEAT (27-21)

at HOUSTON ROCKETS (25-25)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -5.0

Dwyane Wade and the Heat will be going for their fifth straight factory when the team faces the Rockets in Houston on Tuesday.

Miami has been playing extremely well and most recently defeated Atlanta 105-87 as a three-point home favorite. The Heat have won-and-covered in four straight contests and the team has been good on both ends of the floor, shooting 45% or better from the field in four straight games and holding opponents to less than 40% shooting in two of those games. The Heat will, however, need to show that they can get the job done consistently. They have been far too streaky this year and if they can’t right the ship then they likely won’t be playing with home court advantage in the postseason. The Rockets, meanwhile, have been playing poorly over the past week. This team is coming off of a 123-122 home loss against the Wizards as a four-point favorite and has now lost three straight games. Houston will be hungry to come out and get a win in this one, but the team did lose 109-89 as a four-point road underdog versus Miami on Nov. 1. It hasn’t all been bad for the Rockets in this series, though. Houston is 3-2 both SU and ATS versus Miami over the past three seasons and that includes two win-and-covers at the Toyota Center. Both of those games in Houston went Under the total and four of the five games played between these teams in the past three seasons went Under as well. One trend that is worth noting in this one is the fact that the Rockets are a miserable 1-8 ATS off an upset loss as a home favorite this season. C Hassan Whiteside (Oblique) is listed as doubtful for Miami in this one.

Miami had been struggling in the month of January and SG Dwyane Wade (18.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 SPG) took it upon himself to get his team back on track. The Heat have rattled off four straight victories and Wade is averaging 24.0 PPG, 7.0 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.8 BPG over the course of the winning streak. He is being aggressive going to the basket and that is allowing him to finish at the rim or kick the ball out to open shooters. It also helps that he has been locked in defensively, as he’ll need to do a good job of containing James Harden on Tuesday. PF Chris Bosh (19.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG) will likely see some time at the center position with Whiteside out for Miami. Bosh has also been playing well for the Heat recently, averaging 21.8 PPG and 6.4 RPG over the past five contests. Bosh will need to knock down some outside shots for floor spacing purposes offensively, but he’ll also need to do his best to keep Dwight Howard off the glass on the defensive end. PG Goran Dragic (12.2 PPG, 5.1 APG, 1.0 SPG) could provide a major spark for Miami in this game. Dragic used to play for the Rockets, so he should be more than comfortable playing in this building. He will need to push the pace and get some easy buckets in transition for the Heat.

The Rockets have lost three straight games and will be playing like a desperate team when they host the Heat on Tuesday. One guy that they can count on to play well is SG James Harden (27.9 PPG, 7.0 APG, 6.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG). The superstar was on fire in a loss to Washington on Saturday, finishing with 40 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes. Harden went 12-for-20 from the field and 6-for-9 from the outside in that game and is shooting 44.1% from three over the past five contests. If he can stay hot then it will be a huge boost for his team against a sizzling Heat squad. C Dwight Howard (14.4 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG0 will also need to play well for Houston in this game. Howard had 20 points and seven boards in 29 minutes against the Wizards on Saturday, but he was ejected from that game for getting into it with Nene. Howard must keep his cool in this one, as the Rockets desperately need him. He is a force in the paint and opens up the floor for his teammates. He is also one of the best rim protectors in basketball.


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