The Heat's playoff run makes it way to Miami. Can it take the series lead at home?
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Welcome home, Heat
Get ready, AmericanAirlines Arena.
Playoff basketball is coming your way.
The Miami Heat will be home for the next two games in its first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers, and these two could very well shape out how the rest of the series plays out. With the series tied 1-1 heading into Thursday's 7 p.m.tipoff, all eyes are on the sixth-seeded Heat to see if it can take advantage of the home-court crowd and take the lead in the best-of-7 series.
How exactly is the Heat planning to do that?
In simplest terms: Physicality and trash talk.
Even though Joel Embiid's status for Thursday is still up in the air (the Sixers listed him as doubtful), Miami knows it needs to be more aggressive on the glass. Philadelphia, the league's top rebounding team, grabbed 34 total offensive rebounds in the first two games of the series and is dominating the Heat in both second-chance points and points in the paint.
What Miami also knows: The series is heated, the rivalry is intensified and Game 3 should be interesting.
Enjoy the ride.
Helping Wade
Dwyane Wade's rescue of the Miami Heat earlier this week was Hollywood script perfect, too good to be true yet real, a soaring tale of nostalgia, redemption and hope.
But it can't happen every night. Wade knows that. The Heat knows that.
So it's up to someone, anyone else on the roster to step up and make key contributions in clutch moments.
Maybe it's Hassan Whiteside, the $98 million center who has been lackluster through the first two games of the series.
Maybe it's Goran Dragic, the All-Star who already has gotten under the Philadelphia fanbase's skin.
Maybe it's Justise Winslow, who has enjoyed being the "bad guy" while defending Ben Simmons.
Whoever it is, Thursday is the next chance.
Draft-happy Dolphins
The NFL Draft is officially a week away.
And as the Miami Dolphins make their final preparations, one thing is certain: Their optimism about this crop of players — quarterbacks included — is still high.
While Dolphins general manager Chris Grier reaffirmed that Ryan Tannehill is the team's starting quarterback heading into next season, Miami still remains in play for drafting a quarterback in the first round if the cards fall in the right direction.
Could that mean trying to trade up from 11th in the draft? Say, maybe into the top six? Possibly.
In the end, it will all come down to how much the Dolphins value their future draft picks. After all, they have other needs as well.
Ace in the making?
Making his first career road start at one of baseball's hollowed grounds never crossed his mind. Neither did etching his name in the game's record books.
Jarlin Garcia did both on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Garcia matched the modern MLB record with 10 consecutive scoreless innings as a starter to open his career as a starting pitcher. It tied the mark set by Bobo Holloman in 1953 for the St. Louis Browns.
And while it's a limited sample size, it sets up the argument that Garcia could be on his way to becoming one of the Marlins' best starting pitchers currently on staff.
More news and notes
▪ This for-real Baby Cane already wor the turnover chain. His proud papa wore it five times.
▪ The Miami Dolphins wanted C.J. Anderson in 2016. What about now?
▪ Why the Dolphins are showing curious interest in safeties.
▪ How the Stoneman Douglas community will help the Dolphins during the NFL Draft.
▪ After dominating at Alabama, is South Florida native Calvin Ridley the draft's top receiver?
▪ Todd McShay believes at least one Miami Hurricane will be off the board by the end of the third round.
This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 12:29 PM with the headline "The Heat's playoff run makes it way to Miami. Can it take the series lead at home?."