5 takeaways from the Miami Heat’s close loss to the Clippers

The Miami Heat fell at home to the Los Angeles Clippers 102-98, dropping to 9-18 on the year in the process. 

1. It was a hard-fought game, and there’s no shame in losing to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Miami Heat came up just short of winning three games in a row for the first time this season. They were without Dion Waiters, Tyler Johnson (illness), and for most of the second half, Wayne Ellington (hamstring). Despite being depleted yet again, the Heat put up a great effort, and were down just three with 13 seconds remaining. All they needed was the ball back for a chance to tie it.

They got their shot after Austin Rivers threw the ball out of bounds while trying to inbound. However, a smart foul called for by Clippers head coach Doc Rivers put Goran Dragic at the line. He cut the lead to one, and quickly fouled Chris Paul in an attempt to extend the game. Paul drained the first, and missed the second. Though it looked like Miami would have a chance to send the game to overtime with a three, James Johnson failed to properly box out DeAndre Jordan. The Clippers big man got the offensive rebound, scored, and sealed the game. Fitting ending.

2. The much-anticipated Hassan Whiteside, DeAndre Jordan match-up was fairly even… until the last possession of the game.

Hassan Whiteside made interesting comments about Jordan on Thursday. We don’t need to rehash them all, but you can read about it here if you missed what was said. Though I didn’t find Whiteside’s comments that outrageous, and the Heat big man claimed his words were misconstrued by the media, it was still not a good idea for him to say anything.

Jordan looked extra motivated tonight, and capped his 12 point, 19 rebound performance by scoring a put-back that ended Miami’s chances of a comeback. The two 7-footers had similar numbers on the night, but Jordan was much more efficient. He scored his 12 points on seven shot attempts. Meanwhile, Whiteside had 11 points and 17 rebounds, but shot 5-for-12 from the field and 1-of-5 from the foul stripe.

Although it’s been three years since Whiteside’s emergence, it feels like he’s still learning what it is to be the focal point of a team. Regardless, he should know by now that it’s not a great idea to whimsically question the abilities of a first team All-NBA center.

Also disappointing is that it was painfully obvious that Whiteside wanted to back up his talk of being a more versatile player than Jordan, as he settled for a multitude of mid-range jumpers in the first half that he had no business taking. He made one. Hopefully he can use this as a learning experience, and not provide further bulletin-board material to other elite players.

3. James Johnson continues to provide a major spark off the bench for Miami. He also got help from Justise Winslow for the first time since his return.

The Heat would have lost the game handily if not for Johnson’s contributions in the fourth quarter. He continues to play a fun, free-flowing type of basketball that has been a pleasure to watch. For a player to be 6-foot-9 and pushing 250 pounds, yet be nimble enough to get by Blake Griffin in transition is crazy:

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/809959242207793152

Johnson finished the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Justise Winslow had a very nice night for Miami as well. The former Duke Blue Devil, playing in his second game since returning from an extended absence (wrist), had 15 points and four rebounds, while making his only three-point attempt of the night. Though he started off slowly, Winslow was able to get going by using his size to finish over smaller players in the post.

It was also great to see him shoot a pivotal three-pointer with confidence, and nail it. Tonight’s game was encouraging by Winslow, and hopefully just a taste of things to come.

4. Heat continue to play stellar fourth quarter defense.

Miami had won two games in a row heading into their match-up with the Clippers, and both victories came thanks to tight fourth quarter defense.

The trend carried on tonight. The Heat held Los Angeles to 6-for-18 shooting in the fourth, and were a defensive rebound away from a chance to tie it. Though Miami is still lacking offensively, if they can continue to defend, they’re going to find themselves surprising some good teams.

5. The Clippers are a machine.

A lot is made of the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, and with good reason. Both are elite teams and likely headed to a third straight meeting in the NBA Finals. However, there is only one team in the league with a top-five offensive and defensive rating. That’s the Clippers.

The team has been together for years now, and it shows when they play. Paul is their floor general, who directs the offense. Jordan is an elite defensive rebounder, and rim-protector. And Griffin is the versatile forward who can score 21 a night, while still dishing out five assists.

Though the three were not at their very best tonight, they were still impressive. Paul had 17 points, five rebounds and six assists. Jordan won his battle against Whiteside, while Griffin had a “quiet” 20 points and eight rebounds. One of those guys is a free agent after the season, and it will be interesting to see what he does if the Clippers get bounced early (yet again) from the playoffs. Maybe he’ll at least take a meeting with Pat Riley and the Heat before deciding? We can only hope.

The homestand continues for Miami. They face off with the Boston Celtics on Sunday, at 6 PM. Won’t be an easy one, but it should be a fun one.