No Blake Griffin, no problem for the Clippers, who own the NBA's longest current winning streak at nine games and have won the past eight without their dynamic power forward.
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SCHEDULING
The home-heavy first part of their schedule is over and the Miami Heat are starting to make up for it. The Heat are in the middle of a six-game road trip and will play 11 of their next 13 on the road starting Wednesday. This turns into an important stretch for the Heat, who are fifth in the Eastern Conference, but only three games up on the ninth-seed Boston Celtics. A bad trip and stretch of games away from home could be disastrous as we approach the midway point in the season. The easiest part of the trip is over with games in Phoenix and Utah to start the stretch. Miami opened with a victory over the Suns before falling to the Jazz. The middle game is at Oracle Arena against the NBA-best Warriors with the Clippers, Nuggets and Thunder to close out the trek.
After stretching their win streak to nine games with a grueling overtime victory against New Orleans on Sunday, the Clippers get a little breather before battling the Heat for the first time this season. The Clips look to take advantage of a five-game homestand, capturing the first two games with contests against Sacramento and Houston following the Heat. The Clips are 8-2 SU and 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 at Staples Center.
INJURIES
Hassan Whiteside said his sore right knee is limiting his mobility 'a little bit' but he plans on continuing to play as long as he isn't a hindrance to the team.
The Heat also needs to determine who they'll have at shooting guard for the remainder of the road trip. Backup Tyler Johnson was held out of Saturday's loss to the Jazz after aggravating a previous shoulder injury and starter Dwyane Wade left the game briefly in the second half with a strained shoulder of his own. Wade missed all seven of his fourth-quarter shots after returning to the game and the team's offense suffered. Both played in a loss to the Warriors on Monday.
Blake Griffin is progressing from his partially torn quadriceps tendon, but there remains no definitive timetable for his return. The Clippers have gone 8-0 in his absence, continuing their remarkable ability to persevere in recent season without one of their top players.
KEY MATCHUP
The Clippers have gone streaking since Griffin went down with his quadriceps injury, winning nine straight games and eight in a row minus their stud. Without Griffin, a consensus top 5 power forward in the NBA, the Clippers have been able to maximize their spacing on the offensive end by going small and spreading the floor. By surrounding the Chris Paul-DeAndre Jordan high pick-and-roll with shooters, the Clips have the right mix of ingredients to effectively adhere to the modern day principles of pace and space basketball. Not surprisingly, the Clips have the third most efficient offense over the last nine games, ranking third in the NBA in both offensive rating and effective field goal percentage during that stretch. The play and numbers of Paul have gone to another level since Griffin's injury. CP3 is averaging 19.5 points and 11.5 assists during the eight games without Griffin. Look for a combo on his points and assists and consider the over against a road-weary team that just played the Warriors.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
Without one of the top players in the association, the Clippers still have managed to rattle off nine straight wins - eight without Griffin - and are playing their best basketball of the season. Make no mistake, the Clips are a better team with Griffin in the lineup, but they're playing with space and spreading the ball around, led by one of the top point guards in Paul. Luc Mbah a Moute gives them a defensive presence on the wing to go along with Jordan's rim protection and the Clips have been as efficient defensively as they have been on offense. LA should be able to wear down a weary group of Heat players, who are enduring their longest road trip of the season and have several bruised players, including their top two shooting guards.
Los Angeles 106, Miami 98
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