Heat, Hawks aim for post-Christmas turnaround
No NBA teams have struggled more over their past 10 games than the Miami and Atlanta. The Heat and Hawks, who have won only two games apiece over that stretch, will try to begin their turnaround on Friday in Atlanta when they face each other for the first time this season.
The Heat have lost three in a row and nine of their past 11 games. Miami is coming off a 112-91 defeat against the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, having posted its lowest point total of the season.
The Hawks have lost four in a row, including a 126-123 home setback against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, when Atlanta blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
The Friday contest will be the first of the teams' four meetings. They split four games last year, with each winning both games on its home court.
The Heat likely will remain without Tyler Herro (23.2 points per game) due to a right big toe contusion, as well as Nikola Jovic (right elbow laceration) and Pelle Larsson (left ankle sprain).
Norman Powell is carrying the Miami offense, averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game, and Bam Adebayo, who is putting up 18 points per game and recently passed Glen Rice for third place on the franchise scoring list.
"We have to figure out how to come together collectively and get a win, then do it again then then rinse and repeat," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have a game and an identity that we can wrap our mind around. It's about consistently bringing that kind of competitive force collectively.
"We're a very good team defensively. We can be top five when we really commit to it and understand how important it is. Offensively there are things where it can look great at times. We can't afford games like (the blowout loss against Toronto)."
The Hawks haven't had trouble scoring points -- they put up 150 in a two-point defeat against Chicago on Sunday -- but they have been unable to put teams away.
"You got to give (the Bulls) a little credit for that, for sure," Atlanta's Trae Young said after the Hawks' Tuesday collapse, "but I felt like most of it was on us. And a lot of guys are still trying to figure out what we should do later in the game. It's just my third game back. So we're trying to figure out how to execute down the stretch, whether it's me or Jalen (Johnson), or just how we can create an advantage or who got the ball."
Young is starting to see an increase in playing time. He logged 31 minutes on Tuesday, the highest figure since he missed 22 games because of a sprained right MCL. He is averaging 19.3 points and 9.1 assists.
Johnson continues to be a nightly triple-double threat. He finished one rebound short of his seventh triple-double on Tuesday, and he has 11 consecutive double-doubles. He is averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists.
The Hawks have struggled due to a lack of rim protection. Centers Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Mouhamed Gueye (shoulder) were unavailable on Tuesday against Chicago. Porzingis has missed seven straight games and isn't expected to play soon.
To add some inside depth, the Hawks signed 6-foot-11 Malik Williams to a two-way contract on Tuesday. He averaged career highs of 16.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 14 games with the G League College Park Skyhawks this season. Williams dressed for the Tuesday night game but did not play.