Heat Wrap Up Brief Homestand With Battle Against Boston
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The first month of the season has been a struggle for the Miami Heat and things won't be getting any easier in the coming weeks.
The Boston Celtics are a different team with Al Horford in the lineup, but they still have some work to do to reach elite status.
The Celtics will try to bounce back from a loss to one of those elite teams when they head back on the road for a one-stop trip against the Miami Heat on Monday.
Boston won three in a row on the road after Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (ankle) returned to the lineup but could not find the magic at home and suffered a 109-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
"We're playing the type of basketball that we want to play," Crowder told reporters. "We just had a few plays there late that were the deciding factor of the game. We'll get better at that, but I feel like we are going in the right direction."
The Heat are struggling to find the win column consistently and dropped three of four since earning their first back-to-back victories.
Miami dropped to 2-6 at home with a 110-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday despite a season-high 28 points from shooting guard Dion Waiters.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (9-7): Crowder and Horford in the lineup makes Boston a much stronger defensive team, and Crowder is picking up his level on the offensive end as he gains more trust in the health of his ankle.
The 26-year-old totaled 33 points on 13-of-23 shooting in the last two games, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range.
"When you come back from an ankle injury, you're kind of second-guessing yourself," Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas told the team's website. "You don't want to jump. You don't think you can cut and do the things that you're normally used to doing. So I think he's gaining confidence in that ankle and getting back to his old self."
ABOUT THE HEAT (5-11): While Miami can't manage to win consistently, at least it is starting to count on consistent production from Waiters.
The 24-year-old guard averaged 9.6 points and scored in double figures three times in the first eight games but is averaging 18.8 points in the last eight games and scored in double figures in each of those contests.
"I don't care about no stats – none of that," Waiters told the Miami Herald after Saturday's loss. "I want to win. Last year in the Western Conference Finals (with the Oklahoma City Thunder) we were 24 minutes away from the Finals. I want to get back to that. There's nothing like that -- that atmosphere in the playoffs. There's nothing like that."
BUZZER BEATERS
- Heat PG Goran Dragic (elbow) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.
- Thomas scored 20 or more points in all but one of the first 16 games.
- Boston swept the three-game season series in 2015-16.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sports Direct Inc. contributed to this report.)
