Handling James Harden and one big offensive adjustment for Heat vs. Clippers

The Miami Heat are 1-0 against the LA Clippers early in this season, and the feel is that Norman Powell wants to push that to 2-0 in this upcoming match-up.

The Clippers come to town with Miami coming off their first loss in over two weeks, after falling short against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.

The Heat seem like they will be pretty much whole on Monday night, as the one injured rotation piece, Jaime Jaquez Jr, went through practice on Sunday which has him trending in a positive direction.

So, let's get into some keys to getting Miami back on track:

1. The Heat's new offense may take a dip in the past...

Apr 2, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) is congratulated by guard Tyler Herro (14) after making a basket during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

As the offense hasn't hit its explosive strides as of late, it's definitely not a time to stray away from the scheme that got them there. But it might be a time to experiment. When looking at this match-up with the Clippers, it's clear that there will be open spots on the floor when attacking the drop coverage of Ivica Zubac. Bam Adebayo took advantage of it in the first match-up, with an efficient 25 points. But could it be easier to mix in some pick and roll reps? Specifically in the lineups with Tyler Herro on the floor and Norman Powell off, it might be a good idea to lean into a screen here or there to mix some things up. If there was a time to do it, it would be against a team like this.

2. Was Jaime Jaquez Jr's stability taken for granted?

Jan 13, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) dribbles against LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum (33) during the fourth quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Whenever Jaime Jaquez Jr has walked to that scorer's table this season, you have known what you're about to get: high usage, a ton of inside scoring, and a bunch of defensive attention. But after watching some of that bench against the Pistons, there's almost a feel that he's been somewhat taken for granted. Even with the high level scoring options, in Herro and Powell, his downhill stability is needed. He wasn't overwhelming in the first match-up with the Clippers, as he put up 6 points on 3 of 9 shooting. But his 6 rebounds and 5 assists were crucial with the way he reacted to the inside doubles. Even when it hasn't been his scoring, he's impacted winning this season.

3. Key defensive match-ups to start:

Nov 3, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) celebrates at the end of the game against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Although the starting lineup has looked the same game after game since Tyler Herro made his return, I do believe it's a match-up based unit. For example, if Jalen Duren played in the previous game, there was a good chance Kel'el Ware would've got the start next to Bam Adebayo. Ivica Zubac is a tough match-up for many, but I do believe Bam Adebayo gets that assignment early. Andrew Wiggins has been the four in many units, but he may not be guarding the opposing power forward. Wiggins taking Kawhi Leonard makes a bit more sense, while Norman Powell moves over to John Collins. Davion Mitchell on James Harden and Tyler Herro on Kris Dunn rounds out the opening assignments. So expect a lot of Harden handling with even more of Dunn screening, as the Heat need to be ready to work around that.