The Clippers return home from a five-game road trip to take on the surging Heat.
Game Information
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Heat: Kyle Lowry – Tyler Herro – Jimmy Butler – Haywood Highsmith – Bam Adebayo
Injury Report
Clippers: Nicolas Batum (left ankle) questionable, Brandon Boston Jr. (G League Assignment), Jason Preston (G League Assignment), Moussa Diabate (G League Assignment)
Heat: Jimmy Butler (probable), Dewayne Dedmon (out), Nikola Jovic (out), Omer Yurtseven (out), Udonis Haslem (questionable), Caleb Martin (questionable), Duncan Robinson (questionable), Gabe Vincent (questionable).
The Big Picture
The LA Clippers return home after a bit of a disappointing end to their road trip. After two wins against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons, they came up with two crushing losses against the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers where those teams were able to out execute the Clippers down the stretch.
Part of the reason why the Clippers continue to show inconsistency is they’re still building up chemistry from not having enough games together. Out of the Clippers 38 games so far, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have only played 14 games together. It’s only been four games that the team has had a fully healthy roster.
But the lack of games together excuse can only go so far. The Clippers continue to experiment with small-ball lineups and the results haven’t been as positive as they hoped it would be. Against the Celtics, Jaylen Brown did a good job hunting the Clippers smaller guards and getting easy baskets. Against the Pacers, Myles Turner was a force in the paint, active around the basket and scoring with ease.
What complicates things a bit is the severity of Nicolas Batum’s injury. He’s been one of the most consistent players on the team and he missed his first game of the season against the Pacers. Some of the more effective Clippers small-ball lineups have come with Batum due to his defensive versatility. It’s not clear the extent of the injury and how many games he may miss. He’s officially listed as questionable against the Heat.
For however long he is out, that would seem to make space in the rotation for Robert Covington, who also brings a similar skill-set to Batum. However, he only saw nine minutes against the Pacers.
The Antagonist
The Miami Heat come to town one game over .500 at 19-18. They started off the season slowly but have since been playing better basketball. They went 9-6 in the month of December and they too have had injury woes. Their “Big Four” of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Kyle Lowry have rarely played together this season.
All four are expected, however, to be available against the Clippers. They are similar to the Clippers in that they have been a solid defensive team, but they have had trouble with scoring the ball. They are fourth in the NBA in opponents points per game at 109.6 and they are eighth in defensive rating at 111.8. They are dead last though in points per game at 109.0 and 25th in the league in offensive rating at 111.1.
With two teams almost a mirror image of each other, expect a low scoring, grind it out defensive type game. Whichever team can get score enough points while getting defensive stops will win the game.
