Game Preview
The Miami Heat (17-15) return home to face the struggling Utah Jazz (7-25) on Saturday night. The Heat look to bounce back after a narrow loss snapped their brief winning streak, while the Jazz are mired in a five-game skid and desperate to turn things around.
Miami's offense has been a strength this season, averaging nearly 115 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field. They've been especially potent over their last 10 games, pouring in 121 points per contest on an efficient 47.4 percent clip. However, their scoring has dipped slightly in recent outings, averaging just over 107 points in their last five games while shooting 47.9 percent.
The Heat's three-point shooting has been a shade below their season standard recently, hitting just under 37 percent from deep over their last 10 games. But they've been deadly at the free throw line, converting 80.7 percent of their attempts during that stretch. Miami's balanced attack features a 47.7 rebound average and 26.8 assists per game over their previous 10 outings.
Utah, meanwhile, has struggled mightily on both ends of the floor. The Jazz are allowing a whopping 119.8 points per game while scoring just 110.7 themselves. Their offense has been particularly anemic during their current five-game slide, mustering only 113.6 points per contest on 45.8 percent shooting.
While the Jazz have shown glimpses of solid three-point shooting at 40 percent over their last 10 games, their overall offensive execution has been lacking. Utah is turning the ball over 18.4 times per game in that span while dishing out just 25.2 assists. The Jazz will need to shore up their ball security and improve their 46.3 percent field goal shooting from their previous 10 games to keep pace with Miami's potent offense.