A Florida derby between the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Amway Center in Orlando to open the two teams' respective 2016-2017 NBA Season campaigns.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra begins the season without any of his Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh for the first time since 2010. In their places are three players not yet worthy of being mentioned as a Big Three in Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, and Tyler Johnson.
Spoelstra is still one of the NBA's best coaches, but the Heat is lacking in talent, experience, and overall roster strength so the expectations are not high for the franchise at the moment. There were even some analysts who believe that Miami should just tank the season and come back stronger next year, as per CBS Sports.
One bright spot for the Heat is incoming sophomore forward Justise Winslow, who is considered as one of the future faces of the franchise.
The Heat also has many veteran one-year deal players this season, namely Dion Waiters, Derrick Williams, James Johnson, and Wayne Ellington who all could help Dragic, Whiteside, Johnson, and Winslow tide through this uncertain year for the squad.
While Dragic is the leader, Whiteside is the man in the spotlight for the Heat. If the center could stay healthy throughout the year then Miami will have a chance to enter the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Orlando parades a new head coach in former Indiana Pacers boss Frank Vogel.
The Magic improved their frontcourt depth with the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo in the summer. With Nikola Vucevic, the threesome is one of the deepest frontline rotations right now in the league.
However, Biyombo will be unavailable in this game due to a suspension for accumulating too many flagrant fouls in last season's playoffs, via the Orlando Sentinel.
Vogel is expected to maximize their young core of Evan Fournier, Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon, and Mario Hezonja as they develop after another year of experience.
Prediction
A win for the Miami Heat as Whiteside is expected to dominate without Biyombo around. Spoelstra's offense is also projected to be smoother with Dragic solely in charge, but it is up to the young players to finish well for their floor general.
