Who's Playing
Matchup: Miami Heat vs LA Clippers
Records: Heat (10-14), Clippers (16-8)
Where to Watch
Date: Sunday, Dec. 9
Time: 9:00 AM IST
TV: Sony Ten1 and Sony ESPN
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
Game Preview
For the last time in his NBA career, Dwyane Wade will make a stop in Los Angeles. On Sunday, he will play the West's second-best team in the LA Clippers and on Tuesday, he'll face-off against close friend and former teammate LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite being 36, Wade has the highest usage percentage on his team and the Heat seem to be doing alright when he takes the court (8-9). However, when he was on leave with the birth of his daughter, the team went 2-5 through the seven games. It's probably the lack of a go-to high-usage offensive player that has Wade playing with that percentage.
It's the team's top 10 defense that is keeping the team in games and helped them register their 10 wins so far because their offense isn't helping them, currently ranking among the bottom 5 with a rating of 105.6 (27th). The team was reportedly involved in talks to acquire Jimmy Butler via trade but the deal didn't eventually fall through, and now they have lost that chance with Butler traded to Philadelphia.
It's very rare to see a six-game road trip for a trip during the NBA season but what's worse, the Heat's current six-game road trip isn't their only one season.
Miami won the first game of their road trip in Phoenix but are now headed to face-off some Playoff competition in the Clippers and the Lakers twice in three days. Speaking of Los Angeles, the Clippers franchise have been one of the best surprises of the season.
Their league-best 15-6 record earned Doc Rivers coach of the month honors for October and November while Tobias Harris was named the player of the month. Numbers-wise, they aren't leading the league in any specific category or making any headlines but they are doing what counts to ensure they are victorious at the end of 48 minutes.
Their 16-8 record is second-best in the West, only half a game behind the Denver Nuggets.
The Clippers, though however, have the league's second-best lineup in the league for 5-man teams that have played more than 100 minutes in at least more than 10 games. Of course, that's a great stat through the short-term but some great long-term news for the franchise is that this line-up has the team's 2018 Draft rookie - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tobias Harris, a bright young player the team traded for last season in exchange for Blake Griffin.
Last Time They Played
Date: Mar. 27, 2018
Score: Heat 90, Clippers 85
Heat: Josh Richardson - 28 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists on 62.5% shooting
Clippers: DeAndre Jordan - 12 points, 20 rebounds, and 2 assists on 66.7% shooting
