The Miami Heat will look to snap a season-high-tying four-game losing streak on Wednesday night against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
All four losses have come by five points or less, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remains confident.
“We have a tough-minded group, and that’s what we need right now,” he said. “Even as a veteran coach, you realize how tough it is to win in this league. We just have to stay together and figure it out.”
The Heat have settled on a starting lineup of point guard Davion Mitchell, combo guard Tyler Herro, small forward Andrew Wiggins, power forward Bam Adebayo and rookie center Kel’el Ware.
Herro leads the Heat with averages of 23.8 points and 5.7 assists per game. Adebayo (17.8 ppg) paces Miami in rebounds (10 per game). Over his past 19 games, he is averaging 23 points and 10.2 boards.
Wiggins, who has played just eight games for Miami since being acquired as part of the Jimmy Butler trade, is averaging 18.5 points with the Heat.
Mitchell, in 13 games since also being acquired in the Butler trade, is shooting 45 percent on 3-pointers. He is averaging 9.1 points and 5.1 assists.
Ware is averaging 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.1 blocks. He also leads the team in field-goal percentage (53.7).
Miami’s key reserve is Duncan Robinson, who has a streak of eight games scoring in double figures.
Meanwhile, the Clippers started a three-game road trip with a 127-120 loss against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Clippers.
Los Angeles fell victim to a vintage performance by injury-prone Pelicans star Zion Williamson, who had 22 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Clippers got a game-high 29 points from Kawhi Leonard. James Harden added 25 points and a game-high 17 assists and 7-footer Ivica Zubac added 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
For the season, Zubac is averaging 16 points and a team-high 12.5 rebounds a game.
Beyond that trio, the Clippers have a certain Miami feel as Brian Shaw is the interim coach and Derrick Jones Jr. is a key reserve. Both are former Heat players.
Shaw has been running the team the past two games because head coach Tyronn Lue has been out due to back pain.
Jones, an explosive leaper, is averaging 10.4 points a game. Harden, 35, is having a resurgent season, averaging 22.2. That’s a six-point improvement from last season.
Over the past five games, Harden is averaging 30.4 points, 11 assists and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 64.9 percent from the floor.
However, Leonard, 33, has played in just 23 games due to injuries. When healthy, he is averaging 18.5 points.
“When the time is needed,” Harden said of Leonard, “he steps up and makes big-time shots.”
The big surprise for the Clippers this season has been 6-3 shooting guard Norman Powell, who is averaging 23.5 points, which is 10 points per game more than what he put up last season. He also scored 41 points in a game against Utah last month.
–Field Level Media
