Miami (19-13 SU, 15-17 ATS) travels to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers (19-12 SU, 15-16 SU) on Monday, January 1, 2024 from Crypto.com Arena at 10:30pmET.
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Most coaches in the NBA know who they are going to have on the floor each night. In Miami, Erik Spoelstra might have Tyler Herro one night and Jimmy Butler the other. He rarely has both players along with star center Bam Adebayo. Before getting upset by Utah on the road on Dec. 30 117-109, the Heat had won four straight and five of their last six games. Butler started against Utah on Saturday and scored just eight points in 22 minutes. After missing four straight games due to a calf injury, he left the Jazz game with a right foot injury. The reason the Heat were able to survive without their star forward was the rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. from UCLA exploded for 19.2 points per game in that four-game winning streak. Adebayo led the Heat with 28 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks and three steals, while Herro added 25 points, six assists and six boards. But Miami turned the ball over 16 times and lost despite going to the line 40 times and making 80% (32 of 40).
The emergence of Jaquez Jr. (13.7ppg, 50.6% FG) and the return of Herro (24.2ppg, 5.5rpg, 4.4apg) from injury along with Adebayo (22ppg, 10.2rpg) gives this team a chance down the line. The problem is staying healthy as Herro has played in just 14 of their 32 games and Adebayo has missed 10 games. Miami could really use an athletic point guard to replace Kyle Lowry (9.4ppg, 4.1apg), who is averaging 29 minutes per game, but should probably be limited to bench duty at 37.
The Heat rank third in the NBA in three-point shooting (39%), fourth in free throw shooting (82.6%) and 17th in field goal percentage (17th). Their defense has been down this season as they are allowing teams to shoot 47.8% from the field (18th) and 36.8% (16th) from long range.