Are The Miami Heat Running Out of Gas?
The Heat fell 121-104 to the Clippers Monday night as they dropped their second-straight game.
Miami used its 18th different starting lineup in the latest loss. Jamal Cain earned his first career start against Los Angeles. He was one of four players for the Heat to be on the court for 34 or more minutes on Monday. Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. all played extended minutes as Miami has continued to battle injuries and depth issues.
Many Heat players have battled injuries as of late. Point guard Kyle Lowry returned to action Monday after missing the previous two contests but played in just 24 minutes. Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson, and Caleb Martin all missed the game as well. Jaquez is the only player on the roster to appear in all 33 games so far.
Miami jumped out to an early 35-22 lead over Los Angeles before losing its grip just before halftime, and then falling off completely in the second half. That level of performance checks out when you look at the Heat’s scoring trends throughout the season. Miami ranks 12th in points per game in the first quarter this season. The team falls slightly to 13th in the second quarter before dropping to 18th in the third and 28th in the fourth.
Can the fall-off in production through the course of the contest be attributed to injuries? What about the road trip? Level of competition? Although it may be unclear as to where this tendency comes from, there is one thing that is certain; Miami cannot continue playing like this if it wants to make another deep playoff run this season.
