Los Angeles Clippers vs. Miami Heat: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Los Angeles Clippers took their version of the "Blur" offense to South Florida for a marquee matchup with the Miami Heat on Thursday night. The Clips kept it close, but Miami controlled the second half and held on for a 102-97 win.
Dwyane Wade put on a sublime performance with 29 points, the only Miami starter to go over 20. Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 27 of his own and 14 boards, but it wasn't enough to cool off the champs.
The Clippers were still stinging from their 98-90 loss at the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. They came out aggressive against Miami with Griffin and DeAndre Jordan dominating the boards. Though the Heat shot 60 percent in the first half, they trailed 56-52 largely because of a 19-12 rebounding deficit, including 5-1 on the offensive boards. The Clippers held a track meet in the early going and outscored Miami 17-2 on the fast break. The Heat also committed 11 first-half turnovers.
Miami turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter and forced L.A. into mistakes, building a three-point lead heading into the final frame. In typical Heat fashion, they clamped down and held off the Clippers down the stretch with offensive runs and pestering defense in equal measure.
Griffin made it a four-point game with 30 seconds left, but for some reason, he never realized that his coach wanted him to foul. LeBron James dribbled the ball unmolested for 15 seconds before someone hacked him, and the Clippers' comeback ran out of time.
Miami improved to 4-2 after some early hiccups, while the Clips fell to .500 at 3-3. Click on for grades and analysis of every position for both squads.
Point Guard
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Chris Paul, Clippers: B-
Chris Paul didn't have his scoring touch all night long, but he just dished dimes instead. CP3 had nine assists by the half and finished with a dozen. He also spent some time loudly chirping about the referees and picked up a technical foul in the second quarter.
Paul had a chance to cut the deficit to one heading into the fourth quarter, but his buzzer-beater clanged off the iron. Then Doc Rivers rested his point guard to start the fourth quarter, and a three-point deficit had stretched to eight by the time CP3 returned.
Perhaps he was a little gassed on the second night of a back-to-back, but Paul did not look like himself in Miami. Maybe Cliff Paul replaced him, as this was his line: 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting, five fouls and five turnovers.
Mario Chalmers, Heat: C-
Chalmers brought his veteran steadiness again on Thursday night, handing out six assists in the first half. That experience and intelligence apparently deserted him in the third quarter, when he picked up three fouls in 34 seconds. I'm not sure how or why he did that, but he promptly exited the game with four personals and was relieved by Norris Cole for a substantial amount of time.
Chalmers played a total of 23 minutes and scored six points.
Shooting Guard
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Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat: A
Wade was superlative in the first half by scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He added two assists and two steals, but he also had four turnovers by the break. Still, he led Miami's attack and was the only player in a white uniform in double digits. I expected LeBron to have a monster second half, but D-Wade just kept on running the show.
Wade looked like vintage "Flash" against the porous Clippers D, except he was a little slower and a little wiser. On a night when LeBron didn't have his finest stuff (sorry, fantasy owners), Wade decided to dominate.
He finished the game with 29 points on 13-of-22, plus seven assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block. Yes, he did cough up seven turnovers, but that just left him short of A-plus. Reports of his decline are greatly exaggerated.
J.J. Redick, L.A. Clippers: B
Redick got off to a sterling start, dropping 10 points in the first seven minutes. He flashed some nifty moves, including a pass fake that froze the defense as he Eurostepped to the rack for two. Redick cooled off after his white-hot start and ended the half with 13 points, tied with Blake Griffin for the team high.
As part of a developing trend, Redick became less and less productive as the game wore on and the defense limited his open looks. He also got run ragged trying to defend Wade and Ray Allen, who eclipsed 40 points between them.
Redick finished with 15 points on 4-of-11 from the floor, but his five fouls robbed him of a few minutes down the stretch. Or maybe it was his lackluster D that did that.
Small Forward
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LeBron James, Heat: B
After dropping 35 points on the Raptors in Tuesday's game, his highest scoring output of the season, LeBron was more muted against the Clippers. He had eight points and four assists at the half, but he had also turned the ball over three times for a pedestrian line.
You didn't think that would last, did you? Well, it did. With Wade dominating L.A., LeBron never really got things going in the second half either. James tallied 18 points on 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from the foul line, plus six assists, five rebounds and a steal. That's a pretty line for anyone else, but not for King James. Still, with Wade playing so well, LeBron did all that his team needed.
Jared Dudley, Clippers: D
Dudley has been a little erratic in his first few games with the Clippers, and he faded into the background on Thursday night. Not only could he not find the hoop, but he also picked up his fourth personal foul midway through the third, effectively cementing himself to the bench.
Dudley ended up with two points on 1-of-5, including 0-of-4 from downtown. Why is he hoisting up four treys? Dudley added two assists and two steals, but also fumbled away a trio of turnovers.
Power Forward
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Blake Griffin, Clippers: A-
Blake Griffin converted his first four field-goal attempts, mainly by cleaning up around the basket. He posted a very strong stat line, with 27 points on 11-of-15 from the field, 14 boards and a steal. He even made four of his five free throws! But the Clippers needed him to put up more like 35 on this night, and Blake's attacking mentality wasn't attuned to that need.
TNT announcer and NBA legend Reggie Miller castigated Griffin for not being more aggressive with the ball in the paint. TNT showed replays of Griffin matched up against Rashard Lewis in the post, and Blake kicked the ball out twice instead of going hard to the rim. C'mon, man!
Udonis Haslem, Heat: C+
Haslem looked lost without Chris Bosh on Tuesday night at the Toronto Raptors, as he failed to notch a field goal and got punished by Toronto's bigs.
Against the Clippers, Haslem played competently relative to his ceiling, but he yielded considerable minutes to Lewis and Chris Andersen off the bench. Udonis made both of his shot attempts and grabbed a pair of rebounds in 15 minutes.
Center
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DeAndre Jordan, Clippers: B
Jordan squeegeed the glass in the first half, pulling down eight rebounds, including two offensive. He helped the Clippers get off to their fast start, but they couldn't keep up the defense down the stretch, as Miami held their offense to 41 points in the second half. The Clippers got outscored in the paint 46-42, and we're looking squarely at you, DeAndre.
Jordan finished up with a double-double to the tune of 11 points and 14 rebounds, plus two steals and a block. He even made three of five from the charity stripe. He was also one of three Clippers who finished the game with five fouls. Unfortunately for Jordan, the Clippers never really got Lob City going in Miami on Thursday.
Chris Bosh, Heat: B-
After welcoming another child into the world, Chris Bosh rejoined the Heat. He may have been a little sleep deprived and cranky, as he picked up his fourth foul with five minutes left in the third quarter and headed to the bench.
Bosh ended the night with 12 points and six rebounds. He added an emphatic block and would have had another one as well, but I don't think he knows the goaltending rule. He also missed three of his six free throws, and Miami's 63.6 shooting percentage from the line could have loomed large if the endgame was different.
Bench
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Heat Bench: B+
Ray Allen made his first four shots of the game and finished up with 12 points. He and Wade took J.J. Redick to school.
Chris Andersen contributed 10 points in the win, flushing all three of his field-goal attempts around the rim. He also noted three rebounds, an assist and a block.
Shane Battier was typical Battier yet again, at one point drawing two charges in less than a minute. He scored seven points and annoyed the heck out of L.A.
Norris Cole played 27 minutes as Miami went with two point guards to try to slow the Clips in transition. It worked in the second half, as the Clippers managed just two fast-break points after 17 in the first half. Cole missed all five of his shots, but he grabbed three rebounds and played quick defense.
Rashard Lewis saw nearly eight minutes and made the most of it with four points, three rebounds and no obvious cases of him being a defensive liability.
Clippers Bench: B-
Jamal Crawford had his shooting stroke on point with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a pair of three-balls. If Crawford's triple had fallen and cut the deficit to three points with a minute left, the conclusion could have been very different. He also picked up a technical because refs don't like backtalk.
Byron Mullens got off to a productive start that pretty much ended there, but he had six points in the early going. Darren Collison added six points, and Willie Green chipped in five.
Matt Barnes and his utility belt sat out with a bruised hip. This was a night when L.A. really could have used his versatility against Miami's dynamism. In general, the Clippers have some good talent coming off the bench, but their defense as a unit is highly suspect.
