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The New Orleans Pelicans host the Miami Heat at the Smoothie King Arena in an enticing 2020-21 NBA matchup on Thursday. In their first meeting of the season, the Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98.
In their previous outing, the Miami Heat had their six-game winning run snapped by the struggling Atlanta Hawks, with the Heat enduring a 99-109 loss. The New Orleans Pelicans, meanwhile, will look for consistency after recording just one win in their last four games.
Match Details
Fixture: Miami Heat vs New Orleans Pelicans - NBA Season 2020-21.
Date & Time: Thursday, March 4th, 2021; 8:30 PM ET (Friday, March 5th; 7:00 AM IST).
Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA.
Miami Heat Preview
After a difficult start to the campaign, the Miami Heat have seemingly rediscovered their mojo. The 17-18 Miami Heat are sixth in the East and will look to bounce back to winning ways as the race for the playoffs heats up in the Eastern Conference.
The Miami Heat were offensively disappointing in their last game, shooting just 37.3% from the field, including a poor 27.3% from beyond the arc. Coach Eric Spoelstra said in the aftermath of the defeat:
"We had been trending much better offensively. It just was a flat offensive game. It was not a fluid game for us on that side of the floor."
The Miami Heat have listed Jimmy Butler (knee) as questionable for the New Orleans Pelicans game.
Key Player - Bam Adebayo
Apart from Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo has been the other key component for the Miami Heat this season. Adebayo has been tremendous at both ends of the floor. He had a disappointing outing against the Hawks, though, and will look for a big outing against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Adebayo has been averaging 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season. His main challenge on the night would be to reduce the threat of Zion Williamson inside the paint.
Predicted Lineup
G - Duncan Robinson, G - Kendrick Nunn, F - Jimmy Buttler, F - Kelly Olynyk, C - Bam Adebayo.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans have been exciting to watch this season, especially on the offensive side of things, but have struggled massively for consistency.
After beating Western Conference leaders Utah Jazz, the Pelicans were brought down to earth by the Chicago Bulls. The New Orleans Pelicans were outrebounded 35-45, allowing the Bulls to claim 20 second-chance points in the process.
Zion and the crew were once again defensively exploited and will hope for a better performance against the Miami Heat. The New Orleans Pelicans need to return to winning ways, as they are slipping out of playoff reckoning in the West.
Key Player - Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson has been the best player for the New Orleans Pelicans this season.
The 2021 All-star reserve has established himself as one of the best players inside the paint this season. Against the likes of Bam Adebayo and Van Gundy, the powerful young star will look to put on a dominant performance to help the New Orleans Pelicans to a win before the All-star break.
Williamson shot just 8-16 from the free-throw line in his last outing, missing two free throws in the dying minutes. He needs to rebound quickly and hope for a better outing against the surging Miami Heat.
Predicted Lineup
G - Eric Bledsoe, G - Lonzo Ball, F - Brandon Ingram, F - Zion Williamson, C - Steven Adams.
Heat vs Pelicans Match Prediction
The New Orleans Pelicans are quite unpredictable and can hurt any team offensively. However, based on current form, the Miami Heat are expected to win this matchup.
Nevertheless, they will have to keep Zion Williamson quiet if they wish to beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
Where to watch Heat vs Pelicans?
National coverage of the game will be on TNT. The match can also be live-streamed on the NBA League Pass.
