The Miami Heat currently own a six-game win streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the NBA right now and Miami’s longest win streak since February 2014.
Their latest win came on Friday night versus the Chicago Bulls. The 100-88 win over Chicago came without star center Hassan Whiteside, who missed his 5th game of the season due to an ankle injury sustained in the Heat’s 109-106 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
Whiteside will return for the Heat tonight against the Detroit Pistons, according to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, while guard Tyler Johnson is listed as a game time injury with a shoulder injury. Johnson has missed the last four games due to the aliment.
The return of Whiteside will send Willie Reed back into the role of serving as the main backup to Whiteside. Reed had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal against the Bulls with Udonis Haslem backing him up. Haslem will likely not play in tonight’s contest due to a coaching decision, which figures to also be the case for Derrick Williams.
Miami will also return to what has become their main starting lineup due to the injuries of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Josh McRoberts. That lineup will be Goran Dragic at point guard, Rodney McGruder at shooting guard Dion Waiters at small forward, Luke Babbitt at power forward, and Whiteside at center.
Waiters has been sensational over the Heat’s last four games. The 25-year-old Syracuse alum is averaging 27.3 points on 54% shooting from the floor, and 66.7% from three-point territory.
The 27-year-old Whiteside is averaging 16.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game this season, while shooting 55% from the field.
