Brooklyn's Interior Scoring Among Things to Watch for in Nets vs. Heat

The Brooklyn Nets will face off against the Miami Heat for the second time this season, The Nets fell to the Heat 106-95 on Dec.18.

The Nets have been sliding down the standings, losing eight straight games, though they showed signs of life in their 106-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

Michael Porter Jr. looked better shooting the ball after a rough stretch of games, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

The Heat allow teams to shoot the third most 3-pointers per game, but with Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, and Bam Adebayo there to contest shots behind the arc, Miami holds its opponents to 34.9% shooting from downtown, the seventh-best mark in the league.

The Nets found considerable success getting downhill in their loss to the Cavs, with Danny Wolf, Grant Nelson, and Nolan Traoré putting a ton of pressure on the rim.

Miami's gritty defenders will make it tough for each of those guys to get downhill with the same ease, but the Nets' off-ball activity and their proven ability to swing the ball around the horn could help them find easy points inside.

The Nets will be without Egor Dëmin for a second straight contest due to left plantar fascia injury management but are expected to get Nic Claxton back from a right thumb sprain.

Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe have worked well together when both are active, with Claxton thriving as the Nets' swiss army knife on both ends of the floor and Sharpe thriving as instant energy off the bench.

However, it's been a challenge for both bigs to protect the paint, given that Nets coach Jordi Fernández tends to station both of them at the level to keep them in a strong position to contest shots from downtown or disrupt the passing lanes. But Nelson's length could help the Nets protect the rim, which was on full display on Sunday.

Miami scores the third-most points in the paint (54.3), so it'll be up to the Nets to keep driving lanes shut and stay attached to their man to avoid cutters from getting free down low.

If Wolf delivers another well-rounded effort, Porter stays hot from downtown, and Traoré continues to knock down his floaters, the Nets could at least make this a competitive contest down in South Beach.

Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in Miami.