Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat preview: Nets try to end Heat’s six-game win streak

Making waves. On Tuesday night, the Brooklyn Nets hosted their first Tournament home game. They made the night extra special as they dominated the Orlando Magic in route to a smooth victory. The Nets have won back-to-back games and are now 2-1 in group play.

The opponent tonight is looking to keep the good energy going. They beat the Charlotte Hornets in the Tournament game on Tuesday night to improve their group play record to 2-0. In the process pushed their current winning streak to six games.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries

No Cam Thomas (ankle.) Ben Simmons (back) is out and will be reevaluated in a week but Brian Lewis reported Wednesday the big question about Simmons health is not when he’ll be back — which could be a couple of weeks — but will the back injury keep recurring...

Tyler Herro is out with a right ankle sprain. RJ Hampton is out with a right knee sprain. Kevin Love’s dealing with a left shoulder contusion, but he’ll be available. Same for: Josh Richardson (back spasms), Caleb Martin (left knee tendinosis), and Dru Smith (right shoulder AC joint sprain).

The game

Brooklyn won the first matchup.

The matchup on the wing should be super fun. On one side, Mikal Bridges is looking to put another great game together. Mikal had a good all around game with 21/5/4/4 in 32 minutes. The turnovers were a bit high (six), but it’s something you might just have to live with. When Bridges is moving and cutting off the ball, great things happen for the Nets and it makes Mikal a much more dynamic player to defend:

Waiting for Bridges will be Jimmy Butler. The great thing about Butler is even when he’s not having his best game or is being deferential to his teammates, all it takes is one basket in the fourth quarter for him to start turning up. When the time is right, Butler can get to anywhere he wants on the court and score over any type of defense in front of him.

A pleasant surprise for Miami has been the play of Jaime Jaquez Jr. The rookie has been a godsend for Erik Spoelstra’s club and has done a nice job filling in for the injured Herro in the starting five. The great thing about the Heat is they always find solid contributors and can plug them into the lineup with little drop off. It speaks to an organizational commitment to excellence and buy in from all aspects of the organization. Call it whatever you want, but it works.

Maybe this is the start of a big run for Spencer Dinwiddie? Spencer had his best game of the season on Tuesday as his 29 points, nine assists (to one turnover) and five rebounds paced the Nets attack. When Dinwiddie is able to get downhill and get to the rim, it opens up so many scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. With the starting five being at less than full strength for the foreseeable future, this is an opportunity for him to push the tempo and control the flow of the game for Brooklyn.

Player to watch: Bam Adebayo

Having a center that can do everything well is such a blessing. When you can trust your big man to initiate the offense, get you a bucket, handle guards on the perimeter, etc., it makes your team a million times better. Bam Adebayo has consistently gotten better over the years and rightfully regarded as one of the best players in the NBA. He’s seen his scoring take another leap and is averaging a career best 23 points a game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field. Over at All U Can Heat, Wes Goldberg wrote about Bam’s excellent play and how he’s made it shake as a scorer:

In addition to driving more often, Adebayo is looking to score more than ever out of those drives. He’s passing on only 10.7% of his drives, down from 21% last season. This is good. The Heat need their best players to shoot more, not less. Rely less on the army of undrafted role players and more on the elite talents.

Adebayo has developed some finesse moves like a stop-and-pop foul-line jumper to get his shots against bigger players. Now, he’s getting the ball and using his strength. Jab steps to create driving angles. A left shoulder to move dudes out of the way.

The greats always add something new to their arsenal every year, and it’ll be exciting to see what leap Adebayo makes next.

Nic Claxton should have a little extra in the tank tonight. Clax was saddled with foul trouble for much of Tuesday night and only played 20 minutes. The Nets are going to need him for a lot more tonight if they want to win this one. With two days off before they return to action, the Nets can afford to push Claxton and some of the key rotation players a bit harder tonight as they try to push their winning streak up to three games.

From the Vault

Tuesday was a special day in rap music history! On that date, G-Unit dropped Beg for Mercy, capping off an all time 2003 for 50 Cent and G-Unit.

And not to be outdone, Jay-Z dropped The Black Album on the same day.

More reading: Hot Hot Hoops, SB Nation NBA, Nets Republic, All U Can Heat

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Miami Heat Game Notes - Miami Heat
• Heat put six-game winning streak up against Nets - STATS
• With win over Magic, Nets making second-half comebacks a habit - Bridget Reilly - New York Post
• After missing 10 games with knee issue, Heat’s Caleb Martin expected to return Thursday vs. Nets ($) - Anthony Chiang - Miami Herald