Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Miami Heat will open a new day for their franchise on Tuesday, as they step into the court against the Washington Wizards without even single one of the fabled Big-3 on the sideline.
Preview:
For the first time in six years, the Heat will not be featuring a LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in an NBA game.
James bolted out two years ago to rejoin the Cavs, while Wade decided to go home too with the Chicago Bulls after a contract impasse with Pat Riley. Bosh, on the other hand, is at the crossroad of his career after having been ruled out from training camp due to his ongoing bouts with irregular blood clotting.
Instead, the Heat will be leaning on this summer's big signee Hassan Whiteside, who's looking to prove his production the last two seasons isn't a fluke. He will be joined by Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, and Justise Winslow.
The Wizards, meanwhile, are leaning their hopes on Beal Bradley to finally explode this year. John Wall is expected to put up stellar numbers every single night, but the Wizards need more production from Beal to make them competitive this year.
Players to Watch:
Heat: Waiters needs to prove that he can fill in the huge void left by Dwyane Wade on that roster. Miami gets a lot younger this season, but without Wade or Bosh, expectations are pretty much low for this to qualify into the playoffs. For a turnaround to happen, Waiters has to step up his game big time.
Wizards: Ian Mahinmi will have an opportunity to be a major part of offense as the starting forward for the Wizards. As a replacement to an ageing Nene, Mahinmi has to prove that he can be an effective scorer downlow, providing the team another source of points outside Beal and Wall.
Prediction:
It's going to be tight ball game with Wall and Beal both exceeding the 20 minuets pre-season playing time limit. The Heat is expected to establish dominance in the paint by feeding Whiteside inside. Wizards will counter with torrid shooting from Beal, before the Heat gains another gear down the stretch to secure the win.
Heat vs. Wizards live stream is available on NBA League pass. Follow scores, boxscore stats and highlights on NBA Gamecenter.
