The Miami Heat (6-6) will look to right the ship on the road against the Orlando Magic (6-8). Miami has dropped four of their last five, and will once again be without star Dwyane Wade for Saturday's game against a young Orlando team riding the momentum of a 105-100 road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Projected Starting Lineups
Miami Heat
G Shabazz Napier – 6.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
G Mario Chalmers – 13.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F Luol Deng – 14.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F Shawne Williams – 11.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg
C Chris Bosh – 20.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg
Orlando Magic
G Victor Oladipo – 11.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.6 rpg
G Evan Fournier– 17.6 ppg, 2.5 apg
F Tobias Harris – 18.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg
F Channing Frye – 9.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg
C Nikola Vucevic – 18.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg
What To Watch For:
The Heat are a different team without Dwyane Wade...
And the Orlando Magic's young guard corps of Oladipo and Fournier will have a chance to prove their wares against Miami's duo of Chalmers and Napier. Miami still has a motivated Chris Bosh lurking around, but Orlando could very well win this game in the backcourt with both Wade and Norris Cole likely to be out for the Heat.
Magic quietly putting the pieces together
Orlando is just 6-8, but they are two close losses to the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards (both current Eastern Conference powers) away from having a winning record 14 games in. An Orlando team that has been less than the sum of its young, dynamic parts for so long could very well be in the mix for the East's 8th spot if they continue to show improvement this season.
Prediction: Magic win 102-98
Don't be fooled by Dwyane Wade's age and recent injury history. He still is one of the major straws that stirs the drink for the Miami Heat. Without him, this game is more of a toss-up than anything else.
If Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic can continue their torrid starts and the Orlando Magic win the battle of the backcourts, they appear primed to use their young legs to grind out a W in the second game of a back-to-back - thus ending Miami's recent streak of dominance over Orlando.