Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET the Miami Heat (26-8) will host the New Orleans Pelicans (15-17) on NBA TV in an East-West matchup that can be live streamed here. Heat fans can listen to the game on 560 WQAM, while Pelicans fans can check out the radio broadcast by turning their dials to WWL 105.3.
LeBron James and co. are finding that defending a title for the second consecutive year is even more difficult than staving off a championship hangover. Miami had to tough out another victory on Monday that involved a second half comeback, something that's become a staple of the 2013-2014 season.
"Just find a way to win," James said. "Every game is different. One game is different from the next and you just find a way to win when you can."
The Pelicans are six games under .500 this season on the road, while Miami is 15-3 at home. New Orleans would be best served by ignoring their bad away performances, and focusing on the matchup advantage they have in the paint. Miami's kryptonite is top-flight big men, which the Pelicans have in second-year star Anthony Davis.
In just his second NBA season, Davis is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds a night. Unfortunately for the 'Brow, his frontcourt mate Ryan Anderson won't be in action tonight. Anderson has provided a long-range counterpart for Davis, and currently leads the Pelicans in scoring with 19.7 points a game.
Miami has injury concerns of their own, with Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade all listed as day-to-day with an assortment of ailments. Wade seems to be playing through sore knees just fine, however, averaging 26.7 points per game over his last nine.
For New Orleans to leave South Beach with a win, they'll need to avoid collapsing in the second half as they did vs. Indiana on Saturday, when they were on the wrong end of a 14-0 run.
"We just didn't play that well," coach Monty Williams said. "We just got out of sync on the offensive end, and that led to them getting a number of offensive opportunities. They just picked up, and we did not."
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