The Miami Heat travel to New York to play the Brooklyn Nets at Barclay's Center on Wednesday.

The Heat (5-8) come into this matchup losing three-straight and six of their last eight games in total, as they continue to struggle. What's really discouraging is the lack of defense, with Miami allowing over 120 points per game in those six defeats. That's an eye-popping statistic, as this was expected to be one of the best defenses in the league. It's no fault of Hassan Whiteside though, as he's playing the best basketball of his career right now. In fact, Whiteside is averaging 13.9 points, 15.2 rebounds and 3,3 blocks per game this season. Those are Defensive Player of the Year numbers and it's a wonder why this defense is so bad with him playing so well. Some of the absences are definitely playing a part in the struggles, with Dwyane Wade, James Johnson and Dion Waiters all out of the lineup. None of them are expected to return here, as they need to end this slide sooner rather than later.

The Nets (6-8) suffered a devastating loss in their most recent game, as they lost their best player for the season. Caris LeVert currently leads this team with 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game but he'll now miss the remainder of the season after suffering a gruesome leg injury on Monday. It's now been diagnosed as a dislocated foot but he apparently won't need surgery. That hurts this team on numerous fronts, as they'll now have to lean on players like D'Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson much more. They didn't just lose LeVert, they also lost the game to the Minnesota Timberwolves. That marked Brooklyn's second-straight defeat and they simply can't allow this injury to bring them down. These young guys are plenty capable and they need to take this as an opportunity to improve.

Brooklyn has surprisingly beat Miami in three-straight games coming into this matchup. Prior to that, the Heat won their previous six games over the Nets dating back to 2015.