Two Eastern Conference foes meet as the NBA Global Games series returns Saturday night with the Heat and Wizards facing off in Mexico City.
The Dia de Los Muertos showdown is one of the league’s three international games this season. It is the 14th time the NBA has played a regular season contest in the Mexican capital.
Both teams will be missing key players Saturday. Miami forwards Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love are out for the Heat (2-2) due to personal reasons. The Wizards (2-2) will be without Kyle Kuzma (groin) as well as Saddiq Bey (knee) and Malcolm Brogdon (thumb).
The Heat’s offense looks different than in years past. Jimmy Butler has at least tied for the team lead in points per game in each of the last five seasons. But Tyler Herro has taken on a bigger role this season and leads the team in points (22.2) and field goal attempts (16.5) per game, followed by Terry Rozier at 18.5 and 14.3, respectively.
Butler is shooting a team-high 48.8 percent from the field on just 10.8 shots per game. The 35-year-old is averaging 16.8 points per game, on track for his lowest in more than a decade.
Bam Adebayo’s drop in production is more pronounced, as the center has averaged just 11 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting from the field thus far, down from 19.3 and 52.1 percent last season.
“Obviously we need to get the ball to Bam too,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s on me. I have to find a way.
“That’s on me to get Bam in the spots where he can feel more comfortable. Whether it’s pick and roll, whether it’s flashes, you know, elbow, whether it’s in the post, all the different areas where he can (score).”
The Wizards head to Mexico City after sweeping a home-and-home against Atlanta following losses to Boston and Cleveland to open the season. Kuzma exited their first win over Atlanta in the fourth quarter but the Wizards beat the Hawks by 13 in their second game without him.
Jordan Poole leads the way for Washington with 22.5 points, including impressive production from 3-point range. He’s hitting 57.1 percent of his shots from beyond the arc on nearly nine attempts per game.
“I’m definitely more comfortable,” Poole said. “I got an idea of the people that are in the organization, the people that are in the locker room … Credit to the coaching staff for just allowing me to lead in my way, which is being authentic, being genuine.”
Second-year Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly has emerged as a scoring threat with Kuzma out of the lineup. He had a career-high 27 points in the Wizards’ last game, bumping his average up to 18.8 per game this season.
After Saturday, the Wizards and Heat won’t meet again till March 3 in Miami, followed by games on March 31 and April 13, the final day of the regular season.
