The Miami Heat will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in Minnesota. The NBA game will be free live streamed on FSN at 8:00 PM ET.
Coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't want his Miami Heat to forget about getting bullied around in the paint.
He'd rather they learn from their shortcomings, which could be easier if the NBA's rebounding leader, Kevin Love, doesn't play for the Timberwolves.
The Heat will try to avoid their first three-game losing streak in almost two years Saturday night.
While LeBron James, the NBAs greatest star, has helped mask some of the team's deficiencies in the past, Miami's ongoing struggles on the glass have become difficult to ignore after a 107-87 loss at Chicago on Thursday.
The Heat (14-5) allowed 13 offensive boards while getting outrebounded 49-27 and outscored 44-34 in the paint en route to their second straight loss following a 10-game winning streak.
"We can't just brush this loss aside," Spoelstra said. "We have to really own it, to understand what happened. They just got whatever they wanted, right in the paint, at the rim and if they missed those, then they're just beating us up at the glass."
Spoelstra's club has been outrebounded in each of the last seven games, including by a 95-61 margin in the last two. Miami ranks 29th with a minus-4.6 rebounding margin.
The Timberwolves (9-10) have outrebounded their last two opponents by a 90-80 margin, though Love is uncertain to play after leaving the team following the death of his maternal grandmother.
Love, who has yet to miss a game this season, has averaged a team-best 23.7 points while leading the league with 13.6 rebounds and 18 double-doubles. If he isn't able to return, Minnesota is likely to lean on center Nikola Pekovic, who has averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the last four games.
The Timberwolves, however, will have to tighten things up defensively after surrendering an average of 109.2 points on 51.6 percent shooting -- 46.7 from 3-point range -- while dropping four of five.
The Heat also have slipped on the defensive end, allowing 107 points in both losses on a combined 50.6 percent shooting -- 17 of 35 from beyond the arc.
Minnesota hasn't played in nearly a week after Wednesday's scheduled game against San Antonio in Mexico City was postponed because of smoky conditions inside the arena. The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date.
It's a much-needed break for a team that ran out of gas and allowed 35 fourth-quarter points in a 113-103 loss at Oklahoma City on Sunday.
The game will be live streamed on FSN at 8:00 PM ET.
