(Photo via Miami Herald)
After falling short in a late-game comeback against the top seed Detroit Pistons on Saturday, the Miami Heat are looking to respond. And they are now set to host the struggling 5-15 LA Clippers to conclude a four-game homestand.
The Heat recently beat the Clippers in Los Angeles earlier this season in a tight game that played out until the final buzzer. However, LA has gone just an abysmal 2-8 over their last 10 games, including a current four-game losing streak. They have been one of the most disappointing teams this season— sitting at 13th place in the competitive Western Conference.
As for Miami, coach Erik Spoelstra is still trying to figure out his rotations after Tyler Herro’s return has made the roster fully healthy. With the Clippers expected to start John Collins and Ivica Zubac in the frontcourt, there could be an opportunity to move Kel’el Ware back into the starting unit to match up and go big. Ware was averaging 20 points and 16 rebounds in his previous three starts, until seeing those numbers dip to 11 points and 8 boards in only 24 minutes since being moved to the bench.
Jaime Jaquez Jr, who was sidelined in the Heat’s previous game with a groin strain, is “hopeful” to return versus LA. Miami undoubtedly missed his rim pressure as they struggled to keep up in the total paint points against the Pistons.
Can the Heat properly regroup and earn the bounce back victory tonight? Let us know in the comments!
Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):
LA Clippers:
- Bradley Beal (hip) — OUT
- Derrick Jones Jr. (knee) — OUT
- Bogdan Bogdanovic (hip) — OUT
- Jahmyl Telfort (g-league) — OUT
Miami Heat:
- Keshad Johnson (illness) — QUESTIONABLE
- Jaime Jaquez Jr (hip) — QUESTIONABLE
- Terry Rozier (not with team) — OUT
- Myron Gardner (g-league) — QUESTIONABLE
- Vlad Goldin (g-league) — QUESTIONABLE
- Kasparas Jakucionis (g-league) — QUESTIONABLE
Projected Starting 5 (subject to change):
LA Clippers:
- Kris Dunn, G
- James Harden, G
- Kawhi Leonard, F
- John Collins, F
- Ivica Zubac, C
Miami Heat:
- Davion Mitchell, G
- Tyler Herro, G
- Norman Powell, G
- Andrew Wiggins, F
- Bam Adebayo, F/C
Broadcast Info:
- Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (Eric Reid & John Crotty)
- Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
- Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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One thing forsure is that ware needs to start with bam. Davion might be the odd man, cuz spo ain’t benching wiggy, or herro. Tough choices ahead
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Miami has waited for years to obtain a highly skilled point of attack, pass first PG. Now they have one in Davion Mitchell. It makes absolutely no sense to demote him to the second unit in exchange for a one-way combo guard.
With all of Miami’s rebounding and defensive issues in the paint, it also doesn’t make sense to demote Wiggins to the second unit and go with a 3 guard (hydra) offense consisting of Mitchell, Powell and Herro. That was tried in Phoenix unsuccessfully years ago when Dragic was still with the Suns.
A decision is forthcoming regarding whether to use Herro or Powell as the team’s starting SG, now and in the future. If Powell is demoted, it would be a clear sign that Miami does not intend to re-sign him (for a bargain price of 3 years/$77M) and may possibly be looking to trade him before the deadline, since he is on an expiring contract.
Watching Herro play the past 2 games, it is painfully obvious he does not devote as much energy or attention to his defense as he does his offense. It is also obvious teams have learned they can target him because of his defensive limitations. The Pistons did it last game and Cleveland did it in last season’s playoffs. The Heat cannot expect to compete with better teams in the playoffs if they have an Achilles Heel on defense.
As others have suggested, the most logical move would be to demote Herro to the second unit where he can flourish against inferior competition. He still has another year remaining on his current contract, so there is no immediate need to explore trading him. Meanwhile, Riley can take his time to explore whether there is a team willing to provide a good return (young players and draft picks) in exchange for Herro.
There are a lot of important decisions to be made. To me, they matter a lot. Make the right choices and we could get to be a true contender, which in my opinion we are not at just yet. We are more of a B level team right now, sort of on the level of the Magic. Make the wrong moves and we could be mired in mediocrity again.
I m afraid of this game.
LAC are not that bad as results shows. Every team with Leonard in lineup is dangerous. And they have a big physical skilled center, Heat doesn’t have. Ware needs to start, even of the price of hurt egos.
On the other side, Powell should be motivated.
Okay, losing to Detroit is somewhat acceptable, but it is the opposite when it comes to this game with the Clippers. These are the games that a good team must win. If they lose this game, I will embrace the bitching and moaning of all the naysayers and admit that you have been right all along and that I now totally agree with you. (disclaimer: that last sentence is a total lie. 😆😆)
If Collins will score 20 and have 10 rebounds against Heat, then lets trade Hero and Nico for him.
That’s good logic. We will get a chance to see this player some of us covet up close. But, the truth is that if the Heat were going to acquire a PF, it’s one we would never think of.
That’s the ups and downs of being a fan. It would be real disappointing to lose this one. When we beat them last time we played we were really happy and felt it was quite an accomplishment. The Clippers are quite capable of giving us a tussle. But, you will still keep your perspective, whatever the result. I don’t think you even know how to bitch and moan.