The Clippers lost a brutal game last night, and now have to quickly shake off that loss in a game against a reasonably competent Heat team on the road without two of their best players.

Game Information

Where: Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

When: 5:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Bogdan Bogdanovic – Kris Dunn – Nic Batum – Ivica Zubac

Heat: Tyler Herro – Davion Mitchell – Andrew Wiggins – Bam Adebayo – Kel’el Ware

Injuries

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Rest), Norm Powell Out (Hamstring), Ben Simmons Out (Knee), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Seth Lundy Out (G-League), Patrick Baldwin Out (G-League)

Heat: Nikola Jovic Out (Hand), Dru Smith Out (Achilles), Alec Burks Questionable (Back), Terry Rozier Probable (Illness)

The Big Picture

The Clippers are coming off a very disappointing loss on the road last night in New Orleans. Some elements of the game were out of their control, namely a stellar Zion Williamson performance and a sizzling night from three for the Pelicans (17-31). However, the Clippers were definitely a step slow in the first half, trailing by as many as 21 points before rallying to cut the Pels’ lead to 10 at half. Add that onto some sloppy Harden turnovers and a few huge missed free throws late and you have the recipe for an extremely frustrating loss. The Clippers can’t dwell on the defeat, but must now travel to Miami and prepare for tonight’s contest against a Heat team that’s desperate for a win.

The Antagonist

While not nearly as disappointing as the Suns or Sixers, the Heat have more quietly had a down year. Sitting at 9^th in the East at six games under .500, the Heat have been thoroughly mediocre the entire season. The Heat are 21^st on offense (just a hair behind the Clippers) and 12^th on defense, with almost no notable stats ranking towards the top of the league. Bam Adebayo is having a down year, Tyler Herro has slowed since his hot start, Jimmy Butler is gone, Terry Rozier has been mostly bad, and Jaime Jaquez has not taken a step forward in his second year. Outside of Herro’s hot start, the main bright spot for the Heat has been the play of rookie center Kel’el Ware, who has flashed a deadly combination of rim protection on defense, high-flying above-the-rim play on offense, and even a three-point shot. There might be something there with Ware, Adebayo, and Herro, but it doesn’t appear as though that something will be occurring this year.

Clippers vs Heat Preview: A Tough Back to Back
Robert Flom

The Clippers are going to be playing with five days rest in unusual circumstances against a tough and competitive Miami Heat squad.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Heat: Terry Rozier – Tyler Herro – Jaime Jaquez Jr. – Haywood Highsmith – Bam Adebayo

Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Heat: Jimmy Butler Out (Suspended), Josh Richardson Questionable (Heel), Dru Smith Out (Achilles)

Clippers: Kobe Brown Out (G-League), Kai Jones Out (G-League), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)

The Big Picture

The Clippers are in an odd spot right now. Their last game was all the way back on Wednesday, when they got routed by the Nuggets on the road in Denver. In that contest, the Clippers’ collective minds were clearly elsewhere, namely with the fires raging in Los Angeles and threatening (or already consuming) their homes. Then, the Saturday night game in Inglewood against the Hornets was postponed due to the still-raging flames. With the fires more under control and the shock of the disaster having receded a bit, one would expect the Clippers to be in a better spot for this game. Hopefully everyone on the Clippers (not just the players but the entire organization) made it through ok, and didn’t suffer too much in the way of property damage or any other sort of negative impact. It’s still difficult to focus on basketball, but the Clippers will have to do so.

The Antagonist

The Heat have had a tumultuous season. Jimmy Butler, who has been the team’s franchise player since he arrived over five years ago, has demanded a trade, as the Heat won’t pay him the max offer he wants when he hits free agency this upcoming season. The Heat have gone back and forth with Butler and his agent in semi-public forums, culminating in the Heat suspending Butler for seven games (ongoing currently) and announcing he is available for trades – less than a couple weeks after Heat president Pat Riley said Butler would not be traded this year. It’s a mess. Despite all that, the Heat have kept plugging along, as they do. Their 20-17 record might not seem super impressive, but considering all of the drama it’s a solid outcome… and has them in 6^th in the East right now. Erik Spoelstra continues to turn lemons into lemonade, with the Heat ranking 15^th on offense in the NBA and 10^th on defense, good for 11^th in overall Net Rating. Considering how unimpressive their roster is, that’s pretty remarkable.

Notes

Slowing Herro: Tyler Herro is having a breakout season, launching himself from “good sixth man” and “frustrating but effective scorer” to “All-Star Caliber player” in one year. Herro is averaging career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, and efficiency, and is doing so on a heavy minutes workload while playing in every game to this point. Impressive. It’s even more impressive considering how little help he’s getting on offense. Jimmy Butler has been effective but quieter than usual and has missed a ton of games. The Heat’s other double-digit scorers are Bam Adebayo, Terry Rozier, and Duncan Robinson. Bam has not played up to his usual standards, Terry has been awfully inefficient, and Duncan is still just a three-point specialist. Thus, Herro has really been the focal point of the Heat’s offense, and slowing him should be the primary focus of the Clippers’ defense. Easier said than done, as Herro is good both on-ball and off-ball and can get scorching hot from deep in a hurry. If Kris Dunn starts, he will probably get the Herro assignment. If not, it will be DJJ. Regardless, it will have to be a team effort to cool Herro off.

Getting Harden Going: Over his last five games, James Harden is averaging just 18.4 points (compared to season average of 21.4), shooting 32.5% from three, and has an assist to turnover ratio of 32:25, or not much over 1:1. While the Clippers have played a couple of very good defenses in that span, some of Harden’s issues are not defense-related, but just the return of sloppiness we’ve seen from him at times, including multiple inexplicable turnovers a game. Harden has been awesome this year for the most part, but he’s looking tired, which is noticeable both on offense as well as on defense, where he’s slipped significantly from the start of the season. Hopefully, as Kawhi gets more integrated and slowly takes on more offensive responsibilities, Harden can return to being more efficient as a scorer and playmaker. In the meantime, the Clippers need him to be better if they are to stay afloat in the West.

Clippers vs Heat Preview: Back to Business
Robert Flom

The Clippers improved to 5-1 on their Grammy road trip with a throwback, defense-first 103-95 win over the Heat in Miami.

Summary

The Clippers came out very slow, with nobody on the team hitting on offense and everyone a step slow on defense. The Heat went up 11-3 at the 8:30 mark, and Ty took a timeout. The defense took a step up but the offense did not, and at the 5:30 point, the score was just 16-7. The Clippers finally got going down the stretch of the first quarter, and after some buckets by Norm and Kawhi trailed just 22-19 after the end of the first quarter.

The Clippers’ bench unit, with Mason Plumlee instead of Theis and Harden in alongside the reserve crew, played with more energy, and three consecutive triples got them their first lead at 28-27 at the 8:32 mark. At this point, Zu and Paul George returned, and the offense took a dip again, mostly because PG was way off on all of his shots. The rest of the starters came back a couple minutes later, and the Clippers got their largest lead at 41-36 with 2:50 to go. Unfortunately, their offense once more went in the tank, and the Heat were able to tie it 43-43 at halftime.

The Heat continued to send hard double teams at Kawhi Leonard, and this time the Clippers were much better about moving the ball and decisively attacking gaps. The Clippers got their lead up to eight by the mid-point of the quarter, largely behind Kawhi and Harden, and were able to hold the lead most of the period. The last few minutes of the third, however, were rough, with the Clippers going scoreless and the Heat cutting the lead back down to two, 69-67, heading into the final frame.

A Russ blown dunk and Jaquez three gave the Heat the lead, an inauspicious start to the 4^th. Fortunately, a Norm free throw grift immediately gave the Clippers the lead back – and they wouldn’t surrender it the rest of the game. With the Clippers up 72-71 and 10:05 to go, Paul George returned, and on that same possession Harden hit a four-point play. The Clippers continued to push, led by Harden, and got their lead up to 91-78 at the 5:18 mark after yet another Harden four-point play (though he missed the free throw). From there, the game got extremely ugly, with the Clippers playing “try not to lose” ball and the Heat desperately trying to get back in. The last minute of the game took about 15 minutes due to free throws, but the result was never really in doubt, and the Clippers escaped with a 103-95 win.

Notes

Zu Returns: Ivica Zubac made his long-awaited return from the calf injury that kept him sidelined for weeks and looked… rusty. He played just 18 minutes and had four points in three rebounds, not making his usual impact on offense or defense. Still, it was great to see him back out there. It will be interesting if he doesn’t play tomorrow, or if this low minute’s load means he can go again against the Hawks.

Kawhi and Harden, Again: The Clippers’ two best players in this one, as they have been for most of the year, were Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Kawhi had an efficient 25 points on 16 shots and added 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and fantastic defense. Harden scored 21 points on 13 shots, was critical in the 4^th quarter run that won the game, and had 8 rebounds and 11 assists as well. Both players had bad turnovers, but were the two overall best players on the court, and remain the Clippers’ backbone on defense and offense. The one downside was another huge minutes load for Harden at 42, who is still looking tired despite his great performance. He needs rest, and stat.

Mason over Theis: The trickle-down effect of Zu returning was the Clippers having to make a decision on who would play backup center. Tonight, it was Mason Plumlee, and he actually logged 26 minutes. There also wasn’t any Daniel Theis at all, as the Clippers did not attempt to play the two veteran big men together at all. Plumlee was fine in this one, posting five points and nine rebounds in his time on the court, but quite honestly I think Theis has been better this season. I get Plumlee is a better rebounder and theoretical rim protector, and is a bigger target attacking the rim on the pick and roll. It just hasn’t translated to much impact so far. But I’m ok with the Clippers giving him a look, and we will see how the rotation shapes out from here.

Limited Russ: A key for Ty Lue this season has been balancing Russell Westbrook’s minutes. Against the Pistons he was playing incredibly well, so he got a lot of minutes and touches. Tonight, he was 2-9 from the field and had three turnovers to two assists. As a result, Ty played him just 15 minutes – absolutely the right call. I think Russ has brought a lot of value both on the court and in the locker room this season, but his role as an energy guard is perfect, and those guys simply don’t need 20+ minutes on most nights. Ty having the ability and awareness to simply not play Russ much on his off-nights is great to see, as one of the worries with bringing Russ back was that he’d have too large of a role, even with Harden.

Clippers Cool off Heat in Ugly 103-95 Victory
Robert Flom

The Clippers’ road trip is finally starting to wind down, but first the Clippers need to navigate both a talented Heat team and the Miami nightlife.

Game Information

Where: Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

When: 3:00 PM PT

How to Watch: ESPN, Watch ESPN, AM 570

Tickets: For great deals on Clippers tickets, check out Barry’s Tickets!

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Paul George – Terance Mann – Kawhi Leonard – Mason Plumlee

Heat: Terry Rozier – Tyler Herro – Jimmy Butler – Haywood Highsmith – Bam Adebayo

Injuries

Clippers: Ivica Zubac Questionable (Calf), Moussa Diabate Out (Hand)

Heat: Duncan Robinson Doubtful (Concussion), Dru Smith Out (Knee)

The Big Picture

The Clippers haven’t played great on their extended Grammy’s road trip so far outside of the Celtics game, but are nonetheless 4-1 thanks mostly to pure talent. They will take that, as it guarantees an over .500 record on this long and taxing stretch of the season. They are also still keeping pace with the top of the West, and are tied in the loss column with the Wolves and Thunder though they are a couple wins back. Fortunately for the older Clippers, the end of the road trip is in sight, and the All Star Break is not much farther, which will be huge for the team, in particular James Harden. Hopefully they can close this last leg of the road trip in good fashion and get out with a 6-1 or 5-2 record.

The Antagonist

The Heat have had an odd season. They started out a miserable 1-4 before turning things around with an eight-game winning streak. They then went around .500 for much of the rest of the season before losing seven games in a row over the second half of January. They’ve now won two in a row, putting them at 26-23 and in 7^th in the East. When you boil it all down, they’re a thoroughly mediocre team that’s probably won more games than they should have, as they are 18^th in Net Rating (-0.8) with a very poor offense (22^nd) and an only decent defense (13^th). They have a lot of talent and Erik Spoelstra is probably the best coach in the NBA, but something has been off for them this year.

Notes

Return of the Zu: Yesterday evening Ivica Zubac was updated to “Questionable”, which is a great sign. Even if he doesn’t play against the Heat, maybe he does against the Hawks on Monday. When Zu does return, something to monitor will be the backup big situation – does Theis stay in that role, or will Plumlee get a crack at it?

Scary Terry: The Heat’s trade for “Scary” Terry Rozier was lauded, yet Rozier has been frigid for the Heat, shooting 30.9% from the field, 25.9% from three, and scoring just 10.8 points per game. He’s too good a scorer and shooter to keep playing like this, which means a breakout is coming. The Clippers just need to make sure that that breakout doesn’t happen against them. Stay tight on his threes, force him into tough midrangers, and don’t put him at the line where he could get a rhythm going. Terry can win games on his own when he gets going, so hopefully the Clippers can keep him under control in this one.

Defeating the Nightlife: The Clippers got into Miami late Friday night, which means they will have been there all day Saturday and had the opportunity to go out Saturday night. Now, this game is 6:00 PM ET, so the chances of a hangover-ridden effort might be lower than a noon game, but still, it would not be shocking if the Clippers came out slow in this one.

Preparing for Monday: While the Heat and Hawks are not as good as the Celtics and Cavs, they are the last two games of the road trip and on a back to back, making decisions on minutes and playing time difficult. If this game is close, should Ty Lue go all out to chase the win and then sit key starters against the Hawks? If the Clippers go down big early, does Ty throw in the towel to keep minutes low to play those starters in Atlanta? Will Paul George play in both games or just one? And if so, which one? It will be interesting to see how these decisions play out in this one, and if the Clippers are transparent in how this game will inform their decisions in Atlanta.

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Clippers vs Heat Preview: On the Road in Miami
Robert Flom

The LA Clippers overcame a slow start to roll to a 121-104 win against the Miami Heat.

Summary

There’s one thing that’s for certain in the NBA, no matter how short-handed the Miami Heat are, they’re going to play hard and they’re going to put up a fight.

That was the case on New Year’s Day, as the visitors didn’t look fazed at all in rolling to a 35-23 lead after the first quarter.

The Heat lead by as many as 14, 41-27, before the Clippers began to crawl their way back into the game. The Heat’s zone defense gave the Clippers problems early on, but they figured it out in the second quarter.

Powered by Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell, the Clippers erased the Heat’s 14 point lead using an 8-1 run early in the quarter and then a 10-0 late in the quarter.

After missing his first two shots, Leonard hit five straight as the Clippers surged back into the game. Along with Powell bringing a spark off the bench, the two combined to outscore the Heat’s entire team, 24-23 in the second quarter.

It was Leonard’s first game back after missing the previous four due to a hip injury he reaggravated back on Dec. 20 against the Dallas Mavericks. He finished with a game-high 24 points

“He felt good. Early on, just trying to ease into the game, just trying to feel it out,” Clipper head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. “I thought he did a good job in the second quarter just trying to catch his rhythm, get into his spots, knocking down shots. In the second half it was really good to see him get going.”

While the third quarter started off as a see-saw battle, the Clippers began to pull away late and took a double-digit lead, 95-85 heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter saw the Clippers begin to pour it on. They built a 106-90 lead, saw the Heat get within 106-94, and then put the game away for good.

“For the most part after that first quarter, I thought we did a good job just adjusting and tweaking what we wanted to do offensively. We still could have made quicker decisions,” Lue said. “It was good for us to see that tonight just because we got to get better at playing against the zone anyway.”

Clippers vs. Heat Recap: Starting the New Year right
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers will try to start off 2024 on a good note against the Heat and reap the benefits of a roster that is approaching full health.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Terance Mann – Paul George – Amir Coffey – Ivica Zubac

Heat: RJ Hampton – Tyler Herro – Jaime Jaquez Jr. – Nikola Jovic – Bam Adebayo

Injury Report

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard questionable (hip), Mason Plumlee questionable (MCL)

Heat: Jimmy Butler out (knee), Caleb Martin doubtful (ankle), Haywood Highsmith doubtful (jaw), Kyle Lowry questionable (head), Josh Richardson questionable (back), Cole Swider questionable (G League), Orlando Robinson questionable (G League)

The Big Picture

The LA Clippers ring in the New Year with the last game of a crucial home-stand. They’re currently on a two-game win streak that included a sluggish victory over the struggling Charlotte Hornets and a more impressive win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook showed their worth against the Grizzlies by combining for 30 points, ten rebounds and 19 assists. Part of the reason why these two were acquired was so that there is not a huge drop-off if and when either of the Clippers main stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George miss time with injury.

That’s exactly what’s happened recently with Leonard being sidelined for the past four games with a hip injury. He originally suffered the injury back on Dec. 8 against the Utah Jazz and had been able to play through it before re-aggravating it against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 20.

While Clippers fans have understandably been on edge lately regarding Leonard initial injury status and subsequent updates, he participated in practice on Sunday and it appears as if his return is on the horizon even if it might not be against the Heat.

The Antagonist

The Miami Heat come to town a bit banged up. They have a lengthy injury list and will be without star wing Jimmy Butler, who suffered a foot injury the game prior against the Jazz.

In any case, an Erik Spolestra team plays hard and will play hard regardless of who is or isn’t in the lineup. With Butler sidelined, that likely means rookie standout and LA native Jaime Jaquez will get the start at small forward.

Jaquez has quietly put his name in the Rookie of the Year chatter even if most people believe it’s a two-player race between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. He dropped 31 points and ten rebounds on national TV on Christmas Day and it would be fitting for him to have a big game in front of his home crowd – on Mexican Heritage Night no less.

The Clippers cannot come out with any lingering New Year’s Eve effects, as this team is fully capable of not only being competitive, but possibly stealing a win regardless of who plays or not.

Notes

Not only is Kawhi Leonard seemingly close to a return, but so is Mason Plumlee. Plumlee has been out since Nov. 6 when he suffered a MCL sprain, but he participated in full practice on Saturday for the first time since his injury. He was officially upgraded to questionable for the Heat game.

His return presents a bit of a conundrum with Daniel Theis having settled in to the role of backup center in Plumlee’s absence. Theis has been solid, maybe better than Clippers fans expected with his tough play and ability to space the floor at times. He’s also developed a strong chemistry with Russell Westbrook in the second unit.

Both Plumlee and Theis bring different, but valuable skill-sets to the team. It will be interesting to see how the Clippers sort out this roster question. But it’s not a bad problem to have considering it wasn’t too long ago that the Clippers were getting killed on the court due to the lack of a true backup center.

Clippers vs. Heat Game Preview
David Yapkowitz

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.

Clippers vs. Heat Game Preview
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers have now lost four of five games after falling to the Heat 115-110 on Thursday night in Mimi. Keep reading for a full recap of the game.

RECAP

For a second straight night, the LA Clippers started a basketball game off with tons of promise — defensive rotations were crisp, the ball moved and open shots were made throughout the opening 12 minutes. But also for a second straight night, it all fell by the wayside in the second frame. 

After taking a 34-24 lead, a mostly bench unit for the Clippers quickly began to undo all the good of the opening frame. The unit began the quarter with three consecutive two-point makes but was immediately followed by seven empty possessions — six missed shots (two missed layups) and a turnover, which left them scoreless for nearly four minutes. At the same time, no player in a black uniform could seem to locate the hottest shooter in the gym, Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin, whose 10 straight points for the Heat helped narrow their gap. Eventually, his four 3-pointers and 16 points in the quarter would propel a 36-point frame for Miami, giving the home team a 56-54 edge at the break.

The third quarter played out a bit better than the second from a competitive standpoint. But many of the same mistakes plagued the team — namely, wasted offensive possessions by way of turnovers. Yet, L.A. found itself with a lead at the quarter’s conclusion because, well, the team’s only available superstar player performed as such. After not registering a single point in the prior period, Paul George’s 14 third-quarter points had nearly everything to do with how the Clippers dug themselves out of a hole to take a three-point lead into the final quarter.

Unfortunately for the Clippers, the momentum didn’t sustain for long. Tyler Herro emerged for the Heat to throw a few jabs during the fourth period and Bam Adebayo joined in shortly after. And in the end, the knockout punch came from Jimmy Butler, who continuously hunted the smaller Clippers guards and abused them down the stretch to eke out a five-point victory for his Heat.

The Clippers dropped to 14-13 on the season after the 115-110 loss to the Heat on Thursday. They’ll finish up their four-game road trip on Saturday when they take on the Washington Wizards.

NOTES

Batum Stays Hot

Nicolas Batum has been great for just about all of the 2022-23 season, though his impact rarely appears in the box score. However, his numbers have jumped off the page in recent games.

After hitting four triples in back-to-back outings, he made three tonight and logged his third-straight game as a double-figure scorer.  With Batum’s offensive production matching his impact on the defensive end as a switchable forward and energizer of sorts, it’s going to be interesting to see how much Ty Lue balances saving Nico’s legs and riding him throughout the season as the Clips battle for wins. He played 32 minutes on Thursday after logging 38 in Orlando the night prior.

Point Guard Play

Reggie Jackson and John Wall had some moments during this game, but it felt like they took turns being very unpredictable, which is not what you want for 48 minutes from the point guard spot. Whether it was turnovers, no-pass offensive possessions, bad shots, or bad defense, it felt like many possessions were wasted in this one.

Surely, both players will benefit from playing alongside a healthier Clippers roster with additional capable offensive players available to relinquish some of the burdens. But as the team awaits that time, it’s going to be difficult for this team to hit its game-by-game potential without one of the two point guards being unquestionably good.

Clippers vs. Heat Recap: Clippers Come Up Short In Miami.
Cole Huff

The Clippers can’t stew over their loss to the Magic very long, as they have a very short turnaround time on this back to back against the Heat.

Game Information

Where: FTX (lol) Arena, Miami, Florida

When: 4:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers:

Heat: Kyle Lowry – Tyler Herro – Max Strus – Caleb Martin – Bam Adebayo

Injuries

Clippers: Norm Powell Out (Groin), Kawhi Leonard Out (Injury Management), Marcus Morris Questionable (Illness), Moussa Diabate Out (G-League), Jason Preston Out (G-League)

Heat: Jimmy Butler Questionable (Conditioning), Dewayne Dedmon Questionable (Foot), Gabe Vincent Out (Knee), Victor Oladipo Probable (Knee), Haywood Highsmith Probable (Ankle), Max Strus Probable (Shoulder), Omar Yurtseven Out (Ankle)

The Big Picture

The Clippers will have less than 24 hours after their disappointing loss to the Magic to ruminate before tipping off against the Heat. Presumably, some of the players who were out against the Magic – John Wall, Luke Kennard, Marcus Morris – will play in this one and be fresher, but still, a lot of key Clippers will be tired from an overtime game the night before. The Heat aren’t much better than the Magic, but they do have a couple key guys of their own who might be returning, and it will be interesting to see what kind of fire the Clippers come out with. I’d be a bit surprised if the Clippers didn’t start this game off well after the Magic debacle, but who knows with this team.

The Antagonist

The Heat are kind of a mirror image of the Clippers in that they possess a very good defense and a putrid offense. In fact, there are a ton of similarities between the two teams. Both are veteran groups, Ty Lue and Erik Spoelstra are considered two of the best coaches in the NBA, and both teams have been banged up to start the year. The Heat have the worse record, but have played a somewhat tougher schedule. The Clippers and Heat are also two of the more disappointing teams in the NBA this season. And with all that said, watch this game be amazing.

Notes

Working Lineup: The Clippers’ best post-first quarter stretch in the Magic game came in the mid-4^th quarter with a Mann-PG-RoCo-Nico-Zu unit. While the Clippers will have a bunch of their guards back in this game, I’d love to see this lineup again, as it offers size, excellent defense, rebounding, and shooting. It is light on creation and playmaking, but the defense might be enough to make up for it, especially in smaller doses.

Stopping Bam: Ivica Zubac has seemingly slowed a bit the past week or two, possibly because he’s playing a lot more minutes than he ever has in the NBA before. However, he needs to be in tip-top form for this one, because Bam Adebayo is having a great season and always plays at 110%. If Zu c just limit the damage Bam does by preventing him from getting going in his pet dribble handoffs and contesting his jumpers, the Clippers will be in a strong chance to take home the win.

Clippers vs Heat Preview: Quick Turnaround in B2B
Robert Flom

The Clippers lost their final game of the 2022 Summer League to the Heat, 86-83, after squandering an 18-point advantage and leading most of the game. As always, results don’t matter in Summer League, so here are some brief thoughts on key Clippers.

Brandon Boston: After his best game of Summer League, Boston may have had his worst, scoring just seven points on 2-11 shooting and missing all of his threes. He didn’t force the issue for much of the early game, and then pressed late, missing a bunch of contested shots. Nothing to really worry about, but a slightly disappointing end to a mostly promising Summer League.

Jay Scrubb: This was another box-score impressive game for Scrubb, who scored 16 points, pulled in six rebounds, and dished two assists. However, his scoring came on a fairly inefficient 7-17 night, as he was 1-5 from three and only got to the line once. He clearly has offensive skill, and has had some nice defensive moments in Summer League, especially taking charges, but his scoring inefficiency and complete lack of playmaking are huge hindrances towards him being an NBA player.

Xavier Moon: Moon continued his impressive Summer League, scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting and providing steady ballhandling throughout. His size is an issue on both ends (he gets swallowed up around the rim on offense an unfortunate amount) but he is super quick, a competent playmaker, and has some scoring ability off the bounce. He’s probably a 3^rd string point guard at the NBA level.

Jarrell Brantley: Brantley was probably the most consistently impressive Clippers player in Summer League besides Moussa Diabate. His numbers never jumped off the page, but he just knows how to play. He’s a good rebounder, he has some ballhandling chops, knows how to use his 6’7, 250 pound frame to good effect around the rim, and is a legitimately good passer. The three-point shot is an issue, but everything else is there for him to be a connecting forward type. Someone to keep an eye on for a training camp invite.

Reggie Perry: Perry had a nice game, scoring 16 points on 5-7 shooting while making both of his threes and all four free throws, and adding six rebounds and two assists. His shot is smooth, and he has some touch and finishing abilities around the rim. Unfortunately, his defense is very rough, and for an undersized big man he can’t move his feet on the perimeter well. I wouldn’t hate to see him in training camp, but unless he gets sharper defensively he’s probably not an NBA guy.

Cam Reynolds: Reynolds is another guy who’s been a consistent positive. He has the size (6’7), shooting stroke, and actual numbers across the NBA (small sample), G-League, and Europe to be confident about his shooting ability at the next level. The question is what else can he do, and in this one he did pull in four rebounds in 15 minutes as well as dish a couple assists. The Clippers are too loaded at wing to warrant a training camp invite probably, but he should get one from somewhere.

Everyone Else: Justin Bean had some nice rebounds, but was invisible otherwise. Michael Devoe and Keaton Wallace were likewise nondescript in their 30 combined minutes. Isiah Brown scored eight quick points in eight minutes and flashed some quickness, but the sample is impossibly small in Summer League. Trey McGowens played five minutes and logged one assist. Lucas Williamson didn’t play at all – he must either be injured or have been thoroughly unimpressive in practices.

Well, that’s a wrap on the Clippers’ 2022 Summer League. Leave thoughts on the game and the squad in general below!

Clippers Close 2022 Summer League With Loss to Heat
Robert Flom