{"id":560535,"date":"2026-01-25T20:51:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T20:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/560535\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T20:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T20:51:17","slug":"game-preview-suns-look-to-bounce-back-against-an-intriguing-heat-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/560535\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview: Suns look to bounce back against an intriguing Heat team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who: Phoenix Suns (27\u201318) vs. Miami Heat (24\u201322)<\/p>\n

When: 6:00 PM Arizona Time<\/p>\n

Where: Mortgage Matchup Center \u2014 Phoenix, Arizona<\/p>\n

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

Alright, Game 46 of the season, and once again you\u2019ll be spending your Sunday night with me. Which, you know, I truly appreciate. Our Suns host the Miami Heat for the last time this season (unless we somehow meet in the NBA Finals\u2026), and there\u2019s definitely a revenge vibe around this matchup: Phoenix lost to them<\/a> in crunch time 12 days ago.<\/p>\n

The Heat haven\u2019t really found their rhythm yet, as they\u2019ve posted a .500 record and a 5\u20135 stretch over their last ten games. On our side, I\u2019d like to stay optimistic: the recent record is solid, but losing Devin Booker and Jalen Green back-to-back in the last game hurts. A lot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Devin Booker \u2014 OUT (Right Ankle)Jalen Green \u2014 QUESTIONABLE (Right Hamstring)Jordan Goodin \u2014 AVAILABLE (Jaw Sparin)<\/p>\n

First, as mentioned earlier, this is an immediate rematch of a highly offensive duel. The two teams faced each other on January 13, 2026, with Miami winning 127\u2013121 in a wide-open game. Bam Adebayo (29 points) and Norman Powell (27 points) punished Phoenix in crunch time. On our side, the Booker\u2013Brooks\u2013Allen trio combined for 74 points.<\/p>\n

Second, it\u2019s always a stylistic clash. And statistically, the contrast is fascinating. Miami plays fast (1st in pace), constantly trying to score in transition or early in the shot clock. Phoenix, on the other hand, plays slower (20th in pace), preferring half-court sets, three-point shooting, and structured offense.<\/p>\n

And finally, no matter the outcome, this game matters. The Suns are hovering between 6th and 8th in the West, while the Heat want to escape the middle of the Eastern Conference pack. Every win matters in the seeding race, especially for Phoenix, who are clearly looking to secure a playoff spot without going through the play-in.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have 20,000 reasons. I have one. And it includes several layers: Phoenix needs to impose itself where it is strongest. That means generating and exploiting second-chance opportunities and extra possessions, especially through offensive rebounding (6th in the league with 12.8 per game) and steals (1st with 10.4).<\/p>\n

Our win will also depend on three-point shooting and how easily we can generate those looks. Without Booker, late-clock situations, mid-range creation, and overall offensive organization will be more complicated, so they\u2019ll need to play faster, cleaner, and smarter. And limit turnovers.<\/p>\n

Finally, the defense has to show up. The Suns have been elite on that end in 2026 (4th-best defense in the league since January 1st). They need to limit the guys who hurt them last time: Bam and Norman. Forcing Bam to shoot from distance and attacking Powell\u2019s playmaking weaknesses by trapping or isolating him could be options. Obviously, they\u2019re not the only threats, but they\u2019re the pillars of Miami\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m expecting an exciting, fast-paced game with shots falling and possessions rarely ending in wasted opportunities. I can\u2019t wait to watch this one, and I think the Suns pull it out, painfully, but this roster will get it done. I believe in them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: Phoenix Suns (27\u201318) vs. Miami Heat (24\u201322) When: 6:00 PM Arizona Time Where: Mortgage Matchup Center \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604,30667],"class_list":{"0":"post-560535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-phoenix","11":"tag-phoenix-suns","12":"tag-phoenixsuns","13":"tag-suns","14":"tag-suns-game-previews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115957720394292300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560535","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=560535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}