The Miami Heat and Norman Powell are playing great basketball this year. His All-Star chances, though, will come down to one specific factor.

With the Miami Heat looking to get a win against Denver for the first time in a while, Bam Adebayo makes his return to potentially slow down Nikola Jokic.

Get real-time NBA Basketball coverage and scores as Minnesota Timberwolves takes on Miami Heat. We bring you the latest game previews, live stats, expert picks and recaps on CBSSports.com

The Miami Heat's injury report is not encouraging ahead of the team's January 1 matchup against the Detroit Pistons.

Our NBA betting picks expect points aplenty when two exciting offenses collide in Detroit tonight. Free Heat vs. Pistons predictions for January 1, 2026.

BOTTOM LINE: Miami will attempt to continue its three-game win streak with a victory against Detroit. The Pistons have gone 17-5 against Eastern Conference teams. Detroit leads the Eastern Conference averaging 58.1 points in the paint. Jalen Duren leads the Pistons with 13.4.

Here is why the Miami Heat showed a great sign in beating the East's top seed, the Detroit Pistons, to start 2026.

Power forward Tobias Harris is still sidelined after suffering a left hip strain on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving the Pistons suddenly without two of their starting frontcourt players.