Tara talked to Nekias Duncan (@nekaisNBA) about the upcoming matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Miami Heat. Who are the main characters? How is Meyers Leonard doing? What does he expect Hassan Whiteside’s return will be like? All this and more.

Highlights:

1:00 Main characters in Miami are Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler has been great even though he is having a shooting slump. This has really been a coming-out year for Adebayo. 

2:30 The rest of the starting lineup is Kendrick Nunn, Meyers Leonard and Duncan Robinson.

3:00 Meyers Leonard is a fan favorite. At the beginning of the season he was hesitating on his shots but now he is playing with more confidence. He is still a pretty low-volume shooter but more in rhythm and quite effective.

6:00 Going into the season, shooting was a big question for this team. They really didn’t know how effective anyone was going to be at shooting although they knew that Jimmy Butler would be an important playmaker.

7:00 When Portland comes to Miami, they are likely going to try lots of defensive strategies on Damian Lillard, Nunn and Butler will take turns on him, they will likely trap him, and might even try zone defense (they are one of the most frequent zone defense users this season).

8:15 The biggest weakness of the Heat is that they give up a lot of 3 pointers. If Blazers are making their 3-pointers they have a good chance to win. 

10:45 What will Whiteside’s first game back in Miami be like? Nekias thinks it will either be a big game or he will really struggle. Likely there won’t be any in between.

14:00 Both rookies, Tyler Hero and Kendrick Nunn, are playing better than expected. This has been a fun year in Miami because they have been outperforming expectations. Even with Jimmy Butler shooting poorly and Justise Winslow not playing 

15:30 Jimmy Butler came in and took on the leadership role. His chemistry and friendship with Bam Adebayo is really apparent. Butler is also friends with Dwyane Wade and that is probably how he was able to transition right in as the leader. 

Follow Nekias on twitter @NekaisNBA

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