Miami Heat: 5 Bold Predictions for the Heat's Trip to "Lob City"

While every game of the Heat's 2011-12 has potential to be the biggest game on their schedule, their road matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers is without a doubt one of the biggest of their year so far.

The Clippers will get the first chance of any Los Angeles team to beat the Miami Heat, something their Los Angeles counterpart, the Lakers, couldn't do in three attempts last season.

Coming off an overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Miami Heat will be looking to rebound in a major way and the Clippers would love nothing more than to play spoiler to that.

So will the Clippers do something the Lakers couldn't do last year, or will the Heat prove once again that they are in a league of their own?

Read on to find out.

Heat's Chalmers and Cole PG Duo Will Lockdown Chris Paul

If the Clippers somehow manage to beat the Miami Heat, it surely won't be because of Chris Paul's offensive production.

In the Clippers' games against the Spurs and Bulls, two teams with legitimate defensively minded point guards in Tony Parker and Derrick Rose, Chris Paul struggled offensively speaking.  Oh, I forgot to mention that those games in which Paul was held to 10 and 15 points respectively, are the only two games the Clippers have lost so far this season.

I'm not saying that Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers are even remotely close to being on the same level as Chris Paul, Tony Parker or Derrick Rose when it comes to being complete players, but they both do have the defensive acuity and intelligence it will take to lock Chris Paul down, and they will do just that.

In the Heat's nine games so far, Chalmers and Norris, have held starting point guards to an average of 11.3 points per game and 7.0 assists, and I expect them to hold Chris Paul to that production, which is below his season averages of 15.3 points and 9.3 assists per game.  Norris and Cole also create an average of 3.4 turnovers per game against starting point guards, and their defensive toughness will force Chris Paul into at lest that many turnovers, if not more.

Expect Chris Paul to be on lockdown when the Clippers matchup with the Miami Heat. 

Heat's Bench Outperforms Clipper's Bench

One of the most surprising aspects of the Miami Heat so far in the 2011-12 season has been the solid production of their bench, which many thought lacked serious depth.  The Heat's bench has helped Miami win games without Dwyane Wade on the court, and helped the Heat do the unthinkable, win a game with both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the bench.

Let's just take a minute and compare the statistical production of the Clippers and Heat's bench production, and then I'll let you decide which bench will outproduce the other.  All of these statistical representations are based on the first six players off each teams bench. 

Miami's bench averages 21.1 minutes per game, 39.6 points per game, 23.5 rebounds per game and 8.2 assists per game.  The Clippers' bench on the other hand averages 18.9 minutes per game, 33.2 points per game, 17.5 rebounds per game and 10.3 assists per game.

While the Clipper's bench does average 2.2 minutes less per game than the Heat's bench, the only area that the Clippers excel at is in assists per game.  One of the keys to a Miami victory will be the play of each team's respective benches, and the nod regarding bench performance clearly goes to the Heat.  The Heat's bench, position for position, matches up with the Clipper's entire roster better as well. 

LeBron Records a Double-Double but Blake Griffin Does Not

LeBron James is without a doubt having the best year of any NBA player so far.  On a team with fellow NBA all-stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade it's impressive how LeBron continues to produce at such an elite level.  LeBron's currently leads the league in scoring and averages 30.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.  Impressive right?

Blake Griffin is also having an impressive year, currently averaging 24.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.  While Griffin averages a double-double per game and James doesn't, I think the roles will be switched when they meet up this Wednesday night.

Griffin has produced a double-double in half of his games so far this season, the three times he didn't grab a double-double were against Golden State, San Antonio and Houston.  The similarity between all three of those games is that they are also three out of the four games this season in which Griffin has played 35 minutes or less, because of early game foul trouble. 

LeBron will end up with a double-double with no problem.  He'll put up at least 26 points and rack up at least 10 assists with ease.  Griffin on the other hand won't be able to get double digit rebounds because he will be on the bench too much, because the Heat's opportunistic defense will force Griffin into early offensive fouls, much like LeBron's dribble drive will lead Griffin into early foul trouble on the defensive end.

Sorry Blake, for the first time in your career against the Miami Heat, you will not produce a double-double. 

Game Will Be Won with Defense Not Offense

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are both known for their ability to score points, with the Heat ranking first in the NBA with 108.3 points per game and the Clippers ranking sixth with 99.7 points per game.  It goes without saying that both teams know how to get the ball in the basket, but this matchup will come down to what happens on the defensive side of the ball.

When you look at how both the Clipper's and Heat matchup with one another, the advantage has to be given to the Miami Heat defensively speaking.  Sure Blake Griffin and DeAndre Johnson know how to block shots, but the Heat know how to play more solidified team defense. 

When you look at points per game allowed by both teams, the Clippers get the nod with 96.3 allowed as compared to the Heat's 96.6 allowed.  What that points allowed per game statistic doesn't show is just how well the Heat matchup with the Clippers, specifically with the Clippers' front-court.

Griffin will have a hard time all game long with whoever guards him, whether it is LeBron, Chris Bosh or Udonis Haslem.  DeAndre Jordan will be challenged by Joel Anthony's defensive intelligence.  Caron Butler will be locked down by LeBron, and as previously stated in this article, Chris Paul will be held in check by the Heat's PG duo of Chalmers and Cole.

The one question mark defensively is how the Heat will contain Chauncey Billups if Wade is not back in the starting lineup.  Either way the Heat will win this game, and they will do it by holding the "high-flying" Clippers in check.

Miami Heat Get Will Their 9th Win of the Season

While this game is a bigger deal, and ultimately means more for the Clippers than it does for the Heat, I still don't see the Heat leaving Los Angeles with a loss to the Clippers.

A win for the Miami Heat won't necessarily mean as much as it would for the Clippers, with a Clippers win solidifying them as a true contender, and a Heat win proving that their loss to the Warriors was nothing more than an absolute fluke.

The Miami Heat don't need to win this game as much as the Clippers do, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Clippers will win.  With Wade back in the lineup, being able to lockdown Chauncey Billups, the Heat have the clear advantage in this matchup.

The Clippers will keep the game close for the entire 48 minutes, but the Heat's well-developed chemistry, the depth of their bench and their improved defensive play will ultimately carry them to victory in "Lob City".

Prediction:  Miami Heat 98  "Lob City" Clippers 91