NBA Matchups: December 3

Miami Heat (front end) at Indiana Pacers

Team Totals: Heat 100.8, Pacers 105.8

Injury Report: Jimmy Butler (O, tailbone), Bam Adebayo (O, thumb), Markieff Morris (O, whiplash), T.J. McConnell (O, wrist), Justin Holiday (O, protocols)

Heat projected starters: Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, P.J. Tucker, Dewayne Dedmon

Pacers projected starters: Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, Chris Duarte, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner

Spoelstra quotes: Said the length of the Cavs limited them, said he didn’t care about Duncan Robinson’s streak of making 3-pointers when he pulled him out, said he needs time to assess the plan without Bam and that’ll include Jimmy, said Kyle Lowry will have to take on a bigger role, said “we’ll see” on how they approach their defensive scheme and allowing interior shots.

Carlisle quotes: Said they didn’t play with enough force against the Hawks, talked a lot about the missed fouls, said they’ll address some of their problems in practice on Thursday, said he will be pulling guys in and out of the lineup to address mistakes, said their biggest issue is they have to play hard.

Stats and Notes: 

*With Bam out, we generally have to throw out our Miami data with only a 39-minute sample of Lowry, Jimmy, and Bam (109.8 D rating for what it’s worth, which isn’t much). The Pacers continue to limit 3-pointers, and we know this game will likely be one of the slowest on the slate.

*’We have seen 116 minutes of Lowry and Herro without Jimmy and Bam, and it’s been Herro absolutely smashing in that time. Per 36, Herro is at 28/5/3 line on a 30.4 usage rate. With Justin Holiday out, it’s a smash spot for Herro.

*Dewayne Dedmon is going to have to play a lot in this game against the big Pacers to make him a solid option here. The Heat will likely turn to Max Strus a decent bit here, especially if Duncan Robinson can’t get it going. For what it’s worth, Duncan Robinson has been much better away from Miami (not really worth anything, but interesting).

*This should be a pretty decent spot for Sabonis with Bam out. Sabonis’ frontcourt touches are down a little bit, and he doesn’t offer the same upside while the Pacers have their main scorers healthy.

*The Heat should still be very vulnerable to shooting, so this could be a sneaky spot for Malcolm Brogdon and Chris Duarte. Brogdon has seen his usage come up in the last couple, but he’s certainly risky.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards