How the Heat handle Anthony Edwards and the offensive plan against the Wolves

A weekend back to back begins at 5 p.m. eastern tonight as the Miami Heat kick things off against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Heat find themselves in the middle of a four game winning streak, while the Wolves dropped three of four games to finish out the calendar year.

Tyler Herro remains out for Miami, while Pelle Larsson was upgraded to questionable with that sprained right ankle.

So let's get right into some keys to this match-up:

1. The defensive assignments.

Mar 7, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) fouls Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

This Wolves starting unit is an interesting one for Miami to match-up with. The big man duo of Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware does seem to align with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert on the other side as a pretty obvious fit. Jaden McDaniels and Andrew Wiggins could be the swing X-Factors in this game, as the better performing wing could be a deciding factor on how things look on both ends of the floor. Then you have Anthony Edwards and Donte Divencenzo who will be guarded by Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell. Mitchell is a constant pest, but the slightly bigger Edwards will be quite the challenge to slow down throughout this game.

2. Can the Heat get a bounce back performance from this player?

Dec 27, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra walks on the court after the game against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Nikola Jovic has been a bench staple as of late, even recording two games in a row where he scored 19 points and 22 points on his way to impacting Heat wins. Last game against the Detroit Pistons also resulted in a win, but it wasn't his best outing. 5 points on 1 of 10 shooting showcases some struggles on the night, but the next question is if he can bounce right back into an up-tempo impact. He will be needed tonight to match-up at times with Naz Reid off the bench, who is also coming off a down game with 6 points on 2 of 10 shooting. When the Heat consistently run, good things happen.

3. The half-court offense answers.

Mar 7, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) looks for a passing lane as Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) defends during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Wolves find themselves in the top 7 in defensive rating this season, and they are doing it with good positional size. It's a description the Heat usually struggle with, even though they're coming off a statement win over the positionally big Detroit Pistons. With Rudy Gobert being a deterent around the basket in an offense with no screens, there's a few things that have to happen. Number one: run in transition to eliminate that defensive impact, as mentioned previously. Number two: Kel'el Ware stretching the floor will be crucial to draw Gobert out. Number three: Bam Adebayo needs to find a one-on-one rhythm against Julius Randle, as he did in their match-ups last year to truly change the spacing.