{"id":534691,"date":"2026-01-13T21:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/534691\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T21:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T21:43:18","slug":"game-preview-suns-look-to-start-their-six-game-road-trip-with-a-win-against-the-miami-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/534691\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview: Suns look to start their six-game road trip with a Win against the Miami Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who: Phoenix Suns (24-15) @ Miami Heat (20-19)<\/p>\n

When: 5:30 pm Arizona time<\/p>\n

Where: Kaseya Center \u2014 Miami, Florida<\/p>\n

Watch: Arizona\u2019s Family 3TV, Arizona\u2019s Family Sports<\/p>\n

The red-hot Phoenix Suns, who are 8-2 in their last ten, gear up for a long Eastern Conference road trip, first stopping down in Miami to take on the Heat. After just passing the Houston Rockets for the sixth seed in the Western Conference, the Suns look to carry the first-half dominance into this journey across the country. This is the first matchup of the season for both squads, but it will happen again in Phoenix before the month ends.<\/p>\n

Over the last two years, the Suns have won three out of the four matchups, losing the latest one. That said, both teams have been revamped: the Suns no longer have Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, while the Heat no longer have Jimmy Butler. These new identities for each team have shaped them into having brighter outlooks, with young players developing within each organization.<\/p>\n

With the long road trip ahead, starting on the right foot is key for this Suns team, which has wreaked havoc on many of their Western Conference opponents at least once this year. Taking on another well-coached team like the Heat, who can be oh-so-physical, will present a challenge, one the Suns can overcome, like they have all season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jalen Green \u2014 OUT (Right Hamstring Strain)Jamaree Bouyea \u2014 OUT (Concussion Protocol)Vladislav Goldin \u2014 OUT (G-League)Myron Gardner \u2014 OUT (G-League)Jahmir Young \u2014 OUT (G-League)Terry Rozier \u2014 OUT (Not with Team)Norman Powell \u2014 QUESTIONABLE (injury\/illness, low back; soreness)<\/p>\n

I am watching to see how the Suns take advantage of their three-point shooting coming into this one. The Suns have found great success in this with their offense and by prioritizing it. Against a strong defensive team, it can take them over the top. A guy in Collin Gillespie has struggled as of late and is going into a tough matchup against Davion Mitchell. I am looking for him to take advantage of that by getting comfortable beyond the arc and being another solid playmaker to help create some offense and win.<\/p>\n

\"PHOENIX,<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Collin Gillespie #12 of the Phoenix Suns on court during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Mortgage Matchup Center on December 14, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Christy\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Grayson Allen has also been making some scrappy plays as of late, even one that changed the course of the Knicks game, throwing the ball to former Suns Mikal Bridges. With the Heat\u2019s hard work and hustle, I figure he will have to replicate similar plays to keep the Suns alive. Oh, and I can definitely look forward to seeing Dillon the Villain getting into it early, trying to get underneath some of the Heat players\u2019 skin. He brings out the bulldog every night, but against a hard-nosed team, it will be needed even more.<\/p>\n

The Suns should keep an eye out for how the Heat uses both of their centers in Bam Adebayo and Kel\u2019el Ware. This team has struggled against some top-tier bigs in terms of size and physicality this season. Thinking back to just this past week against the Knicks and not too long ago with the Cavs, the Suns struggled to keep that physicality and rim pressure to combat those teams.<\/p>\n

Getting outrebounded can not happen, especially against a Heat team that has two guys who can be a nuisance to the Suns in that regard.<\/p>\n

Being able to control the glass and have a guy like Oso Ighodaro step up on defense once again could be that big solution that holds them together. The Heat also has a solid offense, with Noah LaRoche joining them this year as a consultant. His offensive style has been embraced by the Heat this year and has worked, so a scrappy defensive team is also going to be needed to get a win. Full pressure on their primary creators in Tyler Herro and Norman Powell if he plays.<\/p>\n

The Suns start their road trip off strong with a solid win against a hard-nosed Heat team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: Phoenix Suns (24-15) @ Miami Heat (20-19) When: 5:30 pm Arizona time Where: Kaseya Center \u2014 Miami,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[7,144,295,189,3881,6,30667],"class_list":{"0":"post-534691","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-heat","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-heat","12":"tag-miamiheat","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-suns-game-previews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115889977052650015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}