The Miami Heat have finished their first undefeated week of the season and improved their record to 7-3. The 3-0 week was due in large part to a renewed effort to improve on the defensive side of the ball.
Temperature this past week: Hot. Miami outscored the Bobcats, Bucks and Mavericks 325-280 and kept their NBA-best field goal percentage at a torrid 52.5%. On the defensive side of the ball, the Heat held those three opponents to an average of 42.4% from the field.
Hot Player: Lebron James. He wasn't named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for nothing. In Miami's last three games James has averaged 34 points, four rebounds and four assists.
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Forecast for this week: Favorable. A home game against the 6-4 Atlanta Hawks will be followed by a home and home twin bill against the 4-6 Orlando Magic. The Hawks are one of the worst teams in the NBA at forcing turnovers and the Magic could be without Kyle O'Quinn. If Miami can continue to execute on both ends of the court, they could push their winning streak up to six games this week.
Cold Player: Roger Mason Jr. Mason Jr. played 30 minutes this past week between the Milwaukee and Charlotte games. In those 30 minutes he scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and made three assists. He also turned the ball over twice. Whether or not Mason Jr. will continue to see significant minutes will largely depend on injury situations.
Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem have both missed the Heat's last three games due to flu-like symptoms and back spasms, respectively. Both are day-to-day as is guard Dwayne Wade with sore knees. As long as those situations continue, head coach Erik Spoelstra will continue to have to mix and match his lineups on a nightly basis.
The last piece of news for this week is that five Miami players were selected to appear on this season's Eastern Conference All-Star ballot. The five Heat players eligible for voting on are Allen, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, James and Wade.
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