Struggling Heat Continue Road Trip In Detroit
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DETROIT (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – It hasn't been easy for the Miami Heat so far this season, but that can be said for their next opponent.
Two teams desperately in need of a victory get together when the Heat continue their road trip against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Heat dropped seven of their last nine contests after a 101-94 setback at Philadelphia on Monday and the Pistons are looking to snap a four-game losing streak – three of them by a total of eight points.
Miami appeared to right its ship with consecutive victories over Milwaukee and Washington, but shot 38.6 percent at Philadelphia – 30.4 for those other than Hassan Whiteside, who scored a career-best 32 points.
"It's not enough for only one guy to have a good game," Heat guard Goran Dragic told reporters. "For us, it has to be four guys."
The Pistons could get last season's leading scorer Reggie Jackson (knee, thumb) back soon but need to find ways to finish off games better after losing two straight at home against Boston (94-92) and Houston (99-96).
"One thing that stands out is we got two more shots in the paint than they did, and they scored 14 more points in the paint," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters after Monday's loss to Houston. "To shoot under 40 percent in the paint is pretty difficult."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Miami) FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HEAT (4-9): Whiteside is having an All-Star caliber season, averaging 18.8 points to go along with a league-best 15.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, but three key players in the rotation are shooting under 40 percent from the field.
Injured Justise Winslow (wrist), who has missed four straight games, Dion Waiters and Josh Richardson are all converting 38.2 percent from the floor or worse.
Dragic averages 16.2 points and a team-high 5.8 assists while fellow guard Tyler Johnson is scoring 11.3 per game, although he is 5-for-24 from the field the last three contests.
ABOUT THE PISTONS (6-9): Despite boasting one of the best rebounders in the league in Andre Drummond (13.9), Detroit stood in the bottom eight of the NBA on the glass with a minus-2.5 differential.
"On the boards we're just not competing hard enough," Van Gundy told reporters. "We're going to have to toughen up to be able to accomplish what we want to accomplish."
The Pistons have been balanced on offense with four players averaging between 16.2 points and 13.7, led by forward Tobias Harris, but were ranked 26th in the league in scoring through Monday (96.8).
BUZZER BEATERS
- The Heat entered Tuesday last in the league in free-throw shooting percentage (65.8) and 28th in field-goal shooting (42.4).
- Detroit G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is coming off a season-high 26 points against Houston, which followed a 1-of-7 effort from the field against Boston.
- The teams split four games last season with Miami winning the last meeting 99-93 at Detroit on April 12.
(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.)
