Los Angeles Clippers vs. Miami Heat: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Miami Heat were without Dwyane Wade (hamstring injury) for the fourth consecutive game on Thursday night. Without his services, the defending Eastern Conference champions found themselves down early against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, eventually losing 110-93.
Los Angeles set the tone early, jumping out to a 39-15 lead after a dominant first quarter in which it shot just south of 70 percent from the floor.
With pristine ball movement and control, the Clippers exploited a weak defensive effort from Miami. Despite tightening their effort as the game progressed, the Heat were unable to ever cut the deficit to single digits.
Chris Paul: A
As far as point guards go, the Los Angeles Clippers can confidently claim that theirs is the best. Chris Paul has always been one of the league's most dominant floor generals, and Thursday night was a classic instance of the veteran leading an offense both as a scorer and orchestrator.
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Responsible for a good chunk of the team's points, Paul posted 26 points (8-of-13 shooting), 12 assists and just one turnover.
His leadership on both ends gave rise to a dominant two-way effort by the entire team, and with an abundance of individual and team success, Paul remains one of the league's best players.
Blake Griffin: A
Perhaps more so than any other NBA player in the past few years, Blake Griffin has expanded his game annually, continually introducing new elements to make him more versatile and dominant.
Clippers players are really impressed with Blake Griffin's improvement in recent years. They said outsiders don't realize how hard he works.
- Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 21, 2014
On Thursday, that arsenal of weapons was featured prominently as the All-Star forward finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Along with his frontcourt partner, Griffin used his size and athleticism to dominate a weak Miami interior, playing his patented role above the rim while displaying his improved mid-range shot on numerous occasions.
Though there's still plenty of room for improvement as far as shooting goes, his confidence from the elbow offers insight regarding the direction of Griffin's continued evolution.
DeAndre Jordan: A-
Jordan entered the night as the league's leading , and after grabbing 11 boards in 31 minutes, he'll be able to boast that title going forward. On the night, he also added a dozen points.
Though Los Angeles' dominance ran deeper than its dunking prowess, Jordan's unrivaled finishing ability above the rim was on full display, as the big man cleaned up the scraps of his teammates and served as a dynamic force in the paint.
Efficient and productive, Jordan made his presence known on the offensive end. Without a true defensive anchor in Miami's frontcourt, the Clippers' man in the middle ran wild, connecting on all six of his attempts.
J.J. Redick: B
J.J. Redick was mostly a factor in the game's opening quarter, but in that period, he played a vital role in ensuring the Clippers' unabridged dominance. He led the way from beyond the arc, connecting on half of his eight attempts.
After the first, his contributions came sporadically, but his ability to spread the floor allowed for the Clippers to control the paint throughout the night.
Rest of Team: D
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Surprisingly, the Clippers failed to find much success in their second unit. Jamal Crawford did nothing, hitting just one of his six shot attempts in 25 minutes of action.
Despite 20 minutes of playing time, Spencer Hawes was quiet as well, scoring six points and grabbing five boards as the best player off the bench.
In the starting lineup, Matt Barnes was serviceable, but as a whole it was the Clippers' stars who can be credited with Thursday night's victory.
Chris Bosh: A
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LeBron James took his talents away from South Beach this summer and Wade has been unable to play with a hamstring injury, leaving Chris Bosh as the Heat's lone star during Thursday's duel with L.A.
Despite being the primary focus of the Clippers defense, Bosh contributed a strong offensive outing, finishing the contest with 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Though he failed to lead his team to victory, the lack of weapons around him makes it difficult to cast Bosh in a negative light. All in all, his play was a reminder of his superstar status and the silver lining in an otherwise dim contest for the Heat.
Luol Deng: C+
Luol Deng finished with a respectable stat line of 13 points (50 percent from the floor) and five rebounds. However, with Wade watching from the sidelines, the stage was set for Deng to play a larger role in the offense. In that respect, he failed miserably.
Quite simply, Deng's inability to rise to the occasion left Bosh as Miami's lone weapon, a reality that resulted in the 17-point rout.
Deng was a zero in the passing game and set the tone for Miami's awful evening from three-point land, as the former Chicago Bulls star finished 0-of-4 from deep.
Shabazz Napier: B+
Aside from Bosh, Napier was probably Miami's brightest spark.
Though guards Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers got the starting nods and Shannon Brown filled Cole's slot once the point guard exited with injury, Napier was undoubtedly the best floor general in white against the Clippers.
Shabazz Napier scored a career-high 17 points tonight vs the Clippers.
- Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) November 21, 2014
Well on his way to capturing the starting job, the rookie posted a balanced line of 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, showing his ability to contribute in a variety of ways. He was a presence on both ends, and despite receiving plenty of pressure as the Heat's most dynamic backcourt talent, he fared well.
Seemingly the only capable contributor on the second unit, Napier succeeded in leaving his mark and taking advantage of Wade and Cole's absences.
Mario Chalmers: B-
For Mario Chalmers, the 2014-15 season has seen its fair share of highs and lows, though the general trend has been in a positive direction. For the most part, Chalmers stepped up to the plate against L.A., taking advantage of his insertion into the starting lineup with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
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However-like Deng-he was not nearly as effective as Miami needed him to be, despite a performance that would normally be good enough.
He was also noticeably absent on the defensive end and was unable to get the ball moving around the perimeter, finishing with just three assists.
Overall, it was a solid night for Chalmers, but after posting 18 and 22 points in his previous two contests, his 13-point outing was slightly disappointing given the need for another stellar night.
Rest of Team: D+
Outside of those named, the Heat were awful.
Cole posted just one assist and no scores in the 10 minutes he played before falling victim to the injury bug, while Shawne Williams' 1-5 shooting only scratched the surface of a terrible night on both ends of the court.
Only Shannon Brown seemed to make any positive contributions, filling in for Cole with nine points. Though he served as a nice bench spark for the Heat, the second unit was otherwise silent and a major reason as to why Miami was unable to put forth a respectable effort.
The Clippers, now 7-4, will face the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in the second contest of their seven-game road trip. Miami, 6-6, will take on the Orlando Magic this Saturday as they look to bounce back after this loss.
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