02-05-14 Miami Heat @ Los Angeles Clippers

Miami Heat Starting Lineup:

 PG:Mario Chalmers

 SG:Dwyane Wade

 SF:Lebron James

 PF:Shane Battier

 C:Chris Bosh

Heat Inactive List:

James Jones & Roger Mason Jr.

 L.A Clippers Starting Lineup

 PG:Darren Collison  

 SG:Jamal Crawford

 SF:Matt Barnes

 PF:Blake Griffin

 C:DeAndre Jordan

 Clippers Inactive List:               

Chris Paul(shoulder) &

J.J Redick(hip)

   

The Miami Heat had a modest 8-6 record in the month of January ,mainly due to uninspired play that was full of defensive struggles.To be fair Dwyane Wade's absence in 5 of the 14 games in January, including 4 consecutive games against the Bobcats,Hawks,Celtics and Lakers certainly was a big contribution.Their struggles were highlighted during a stretch between January 9th and January 15th in which the Heat lost three consecutive games against the Knicks,Nets and Wizards.Despite their struggles in January the Miami Heat have won 5 of their last 6 games,the sole loss coming against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 29th.The Heat have played really well over the pass two games fueled by the hot play of Dwyane Wade who is fresh off a 30 point,10 rebound,5 assist outing in the 102-96 win over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Monday.

Here are the number of shots taking by Wade over the past four games (resulting in 3 Heat wins)

Tonights  game versus the Los Angeles Clippers is the start of a 6 game West coast road trip for the Heat.During this road trip the Heat have three marquee matchups against the L.A Clippers,Golden Staate Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder

Tonight the Miami Heat are trying to win their 6th game in their past 7 outings.

Miami leads the league with a 50.9% field-goal percentage, the highest shooting % by any team since the 2008-2009 Phoenix Suns. The Heat are unbelievably efficient inside the paint leading the league on shots within five feet of the basket (67.9 percent) and on those five-to-nine feet from the cup (47.2).The Clippers and Heat are both in the top three in the scoring department in the entire association.

Below is a side by side comparison of these two teams 

defensive and offensive numbers as well as their records.

Tonight is the 17th full game without starting point guard Chris Paul for the Los Angeles Clippers, since he separated his shoulder on January 3rd on the road against the Mavericks.The Clippers are 11-5 without the play of Chris Paul.The Miami Heat are trying to improve to 35-13 while the Clippers try to improve to 34-17.