With their grasp on a play-in tournament spot starting to slip, the Golden State Warriors headed to South Beach in dire need of a win. In such dire need that our own Daniel Hardee labeled it a “must win game” in his preview.
The Warriors were dealt a favorable hand before the game began, when Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was ruled out due to an illness. But that wasn’t the only personnel change: perhaps sensing a little bit of desperation, Steve Kerr re-inserted Klay Thompson into the starting lineup, where he displaced rookie Brandin Podziemski.