Inside The Heat

A Heat player to watch for tonight, plus what Phoenix Sun can hurt Miami most?

Some keys to making this a winning road trip for Miami...
Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) reacts from the bench against Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) reacts from the bench against Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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The road trip finalle takes place tonight for the Miami Heat, as they head to Phoenix for the second night of the back to back against the Suns.

They're coming off a blowout win in Utah where many of their rotation guys were able to build up a continued offensive rhythm. Some of that rest late helped conserve guys for the game tonight.

The Suns will be without Devin Booker who sprained his ankle recently, yet it's still not a group to take lightly as they've found a ton of recent success.

So let's get into some keys to making this a 3-2 trip:

1. Bam Adebayo's hot streak.

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Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) hugs Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

It wasn't too long ago that the Heat's captain Bam Adebayo was enduring a massive cold streak on the offensive end, as he couldn't even crack the 15 point mark for some time. A home match-up with the Phoenix Suns just under two weeks ago with his breakout performance, dropping 29 points and four triples. Since that game, he's made 22 three pointers in seven games. Safe to say that slump has been broken, which included another big scoring pop in Utah less than 24 hours ago, but they will need that pop yet again tonight. The reason he found success in this match-up was due to Mark Williams daring him to take perimeter shots all game, and I'm curious to see if they stick with that same defensive game-plan.

2. Andrew Wiggins watch.

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Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots the basketball against Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Andrew Wiggins has continually been a steady piece for Miami, as he's not going to do anything too loud, but does just enough of the little things to help this team on both ends. He had another one of those silent, yet effective, performances in Utah on his way to 17 points on 50% shooting. He's pretty much had that exact stat-line each of the last six games. That seventh game, though: the Phoenix Suns match-up. He scored 8 points in that win while shooting 2 for 11 from the field and 0 for 5 from deep. With the Heat injury stuff still undecided and a depleted guard room, he might be asked to do even more offensively in this match-up tonight.

3. What Phoenix Suns player to watch for?

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Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) shoots the basketball over Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Going back to that first Heat-Suns game, the guy that really hurt Miami was Grayson Allen. He dropped 25 points off the bench, along with 6 for 14 shooting from deep. Even more importantly, in the last game Devin Booker missed, Allen similarly had a big scoring game with 33 points as a starter and 7 triples on 20 attempts. The key for Miami defensively? Not just limiting the scoring of Allen, but limiting the clean attempts. Getting off that many three balls isn't a good recipe for a Heat defense, so it'll be about helping off the right players, and forcing the looks they want.


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Brady Hawk
BRADY HAWK

Brady is a co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast and has done writing for the Five Reasons Sports Network. He has been a season credential holder for the Miami Heat since 2022. TWITTER: @BradyHawk305