Miami look to maintain impressive run against Golden State Warriors
After a December to remember, the Miami Heat can now set their sights confidently on the New Year.
Setting a league record for most away wins (10) in a calendar month, the red hot Miami take on the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Arena on Saturday
night.
The showdown will mark the second time these teams will be meeting this season. In the last encounter between the two offensive power-houses, Miami got the better
of the Warriors as they captured a 22-point, 106-84 win. The Warriors took to the court in that game without their ace guard Stephen Curry. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James took advantage
and ran riot on the Warriors defence, as they combined for 59 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists to marshal the Heat. Last season as well, Miami swept the season-series 2-0 and has currently
won the last five consecutive games against the Warriors.
However come Saturday night, the men from South Beach will be up against a resurgent Golden State outfit that has won four of its last five encounters, and will be
rearing to get another shot at the Heat with Curry back in the lineup. After ending 2010 with a hard fought single-point win against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Warriors will look to
start 2011 in the same way. However, the third stop of the Warriors road trip may prove to be the toughest, as they lock horns with a red hot Miami team that has won 16 of its last seventeen games.
After a rocky start to the season, which saw them slump to 9-8, the Heat finally turned their season on its head. With a bevy of blue-collared players and feared
perimeter shooters in their ranks, the Miami Heat jelled their talents together after the initial setbacks, and have annihilated every team that stood in its path ever since.
Winning 12 of their last 17 games by double-digits, the Heat have held sixteen of their last seventeen opponents to under 100 points. LeBron James, the most high
profile player in the Miami outfit, cast his thoughts on the prolific turn around. He said, "We're just a different team now. We go out and understand that no matter what the course
of the game may bring, we can always will ourselves to win, get enough stops, and make enough plays to win a basketball game."
On Saturday, Miami’s charge will be led by inspirational shooting guard Dwyane Wade. Wade has scored at an average of 27.9 points this December and is in the form
of his life, as he go into the game on the back of two consecutive 40 plus games. To make matters more intimidating, Wade led the Heat in points (35), assists (10.5) and steals (3.5) against the Warriors last season.
Wade though will not be the only one to look out for.
LeBron James, the reigning two-time MVP, will also be itching to jump-start a year in which he hopes to win the Championship ring for his franchise. To complement
him there will be the last cog of the Big Three, Chris Bosh, who averages 28.6 points and 10.8 boards in his last five against the Warriors.
For the Warriors, any hopes of a surprise win will rest solely on the shoulders of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Ellis has been instrumental in igniting the Golden
State revival, and has scored 30 or more points in three of his last five games. The prolific sharp-shooter is currently ranked third in the NBA in scoring, second in steals and first in minutes.
Curry on the other hand has been slowly coming into his groove after a six-game lay off due to an ankle sprain. The 6ft 3in guard has notched up 10 plus assists in
two of his last three games, and currently stands first in free throw percentage with 91.4.
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