5 reasons the Phoenix Suns will beat the Miami Heat

5. The Heat have a depleted roster

Like most playoff teams, the Heat are led by a superstar. In Miami’s case, it is Jimmy Butler, but fortunately for the Suns, he won’t be playing on Saturday. On top of that, Kendrick Nunn has left the bubble for personal reasons, reportedly unrelated to COVID-19.

On top of that, two-time former Phoenix Suns guard and possessor a top 20 franchise nickname, Goran Dragic, is questionable with an ankle injury. I can’t imagine he will push to return given Miami’s current bubble situation.

Even the non-injured players are suffering. Bam Adebayo admitted he’s not feeling 100 percent and former starter Miles Leonard has played himself out of the rotation.

Outside of Bam and Leonard’s struggles, assuming Dragic doesn’t play, the Heat will be missing 51.6 points per game that will have to be made up from their substitutes. For most teams, this would be nearly impossible, but not quite so with the Heat.

Bench players like Tyler Herro (who claims to model his game after Devin Booker) have been big for the Heat. Herro put up 20 points last game against the Bucks and will no doubt come out hungry to showcase his talents in front of his role model.

Similarly, former Phoenix Suns Airplane Mode, Derrick Jones Jr., has been filling in admirably, and he put up 12 points in limited minutes. Former players always seem to play well against the Suns, so he is someone to watch.

Regardless, this isn’t the same team the Suns lost to back in November. They are limited, and good teams should attack a team when they’re vulnerable. The Suns, in their journey to be a good team, can do exactly that.