Preview: Warriors look to shake losing streak vs Heat

The Golden State Warriors are suffering their first losing streak of the season, dropping games to the Denver Nuggets at home and then the Phoenix Suns on the road.

Next up on their plate is a date with the Eastern Conference finalist Miami Heat, who at the time of this writing are in a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers

Golden State Warriors vs Miami Heat

October 27th, 2022 | 7:00 PT

Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area, NBA TV | Listen: 95.7 The Game

The Warriors have started off their fourth NBA title defense in the last eight years without much on-court defense to be spoken of. The Warriors currently are dead last in opponent’s fast break points per game at 21.3. They are third worst at giving up points in the paint with 57.5 per game. They also rank in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent free throw attempts per game.

We’re not at Halloween yet so certainly no need to panic in Dub Nation, but it’s certainly interesting to view which lineups Coach Steve Kerr can conjure up to defend with consistency.

Meanwhile the Miami Heat have been struggling to put the ball in the basket, shooting 44% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc. Check out this excerpt from our blog buddy at Hot Hot Hoops, who discussed a glaring stat revealing Miami’s cold offense:

105.3 - Through four games, the Heat have posted a 105.6 offensive rating — meaning they’ve conjured together 105.6 points per 100 possessions, the third-worst mark in the league. They only rank ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers, who are still configuring rotations with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, John Wall and Norman Powell, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who haven’t been able to throw a rock into the ocean through their three games.

And here’s Miami beat writer Ira Winderman discussing what he sees ailing the Heat’s offense:

Lack of shot creation has been an ongoing issue. That’s why (perhaps too much?) hope was placed in Victor Oladipo. Now that waiting game will be on hold for at least another week, with Vic still dealing with his season-opening knee issue, And with Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro in the starting lineup, there basically is no shot creation in the second unit. That has had Erik Spoelstra basically forced to have at least one of those two on the court at all times.

Will the Warriors break out of their mini-slump in the friendly confines of Chase Center? Or will Miami catch some good mojo on Golden State’s porous defense?