The shorthanded Miami Heat come up short in the Staples Center
The Miami Heat entered Wednesday night’s showdown in the Staples Center already shorthanded. They would finish the game worse off than they began.
The Miami Heat entered the game on Wednesday night already fishing for options on their depleted squad. While nothing seems to be extremely long term on the injury front, especially with the trading of Justise Winslow (which will be addressed ad nauseam over the next few days), being without Meyers Leonard and Tyler Herro coming into this game were absences that really could stand to hurt the Heat on Wednesday.
While they didn’t exactly appear to struggle due to the absences to open the game, things eventually caught up to the Miami Heat. After leading for much of the first half and even taking a three-point lead into the half, the Miami Heat came out in the second half and let the game get away from them. They would go on to drop the game in the Staples Center, by a score of 128-111 in the favor of the Clippers.
A major factor in what might have helped to let the game get away from the Miami Heat was an injury to Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler left the game late in the third quarter and would never return. According to all reports, it was a shoulder injury that kept the Miami Heat’s resident star player out of the game.
Physical stress and fatigue may have not been the only thing bothering the Miami Heat on Wednesday night though. Justise Winslow was traded within mere hours of the tip-off, while James Johnson and Dion Waiters were supposedly in the building but not on the floor with the team because they may be subjects of a trade that is in the works as well, if not the same trade that has Winslow moving to Memphis for Andre Iguodala.
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The Miami Heat have a lot going on now, from dealing with the deadline to the All-Star Break coming and subsequent participation in certain events by their players to the extra burden needing to be taken on due to injury, but they must overcome and push through to close the first half of the season successfully. There is no need to let off the gas now, no matter how tough things may get. They are right back at in on Friday as they travel to a different part of California to face the Sacramento Kings.