Entering their Monday matchup, the visiting Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat have been two of the biggest surprises in the league through the first month-plus of the season.
The Heat, nearly 10 months removed from the trade that shipped Jimmy Butler to Golden State, have been among the biggest overachievers relative to expectations, establishing themselves as one of the toughest teams to play in the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, perhaps no team has underperformed through its first 20 games more than the Clippers. With James Harden and Kawhi Leonard leading the roster, L.A. was once again expected to be heavy contenders in the West.
Instead, the Clippers have dealt with injuries and inconsistencies and come into Monday’s tilt with the Heat having won just five of their first 20 games, including a disappointing 114-110 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
“Losing is always frustrating,” Harden said following the loss to the Mavs.
He added: “The situation here is difficult. We’re not making shots offensively; defensively, we allow mistakes too many times. That’s one of the reasons why we lose games.”
The Clippers, who will play their next five games on the road, were expecting things to turn around once they got Leonard back in the lineup. Instead, the Clippers have lost all four games Leonard has played in since he returned from a right ankle sprain.
“It’s not about me and Kawhi communicating,” Harden said. “Me and Kawhi’s communication is perfect. We have to go out there and actually win a game and do the things necessary to win games.”
Turnovers have been an issue for the Clippers, and their 18 turnovers against the Mavs proved costly once again.
“We have to stay with it. We have to play better,” said Clippers head coach Ty Lue.
He added: “We can’t turn the basketball over because we can’t get back in transition and get set and make them play against our half-court defense. I thought our point-of-attack defense, especially in that first half, really hurt us.”
While the Clippers continue their search for an identity, the Heat appear to have figured out exactly how they want to play this season. Miami has adopted a quicker pace offensively. Their defensive intensity continues to be the trademark for the Heat, as has been the case for most teams coached by Erik Spoelstra.
The combination of a strong offense and defense has led Miami to fourth place in the Eastern Conference despite not having stars Bam Adebayo (toe) and Tyler Herro (ankle) for a big chunk of the season.
“That type of aggressiveness defensively, that’s been us when we’re at our best,” Spoelstra said. “Making plays and, at times, you’re scrambling so hard that you get burned on a couple things, but that’s been our identity.”
The Heat will look to get back on track after their six-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in a 138-135 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Miami allowed 76 points in the paint and 28 points off turnovers.
“We were kinda letting them get what they wanted, they were feeling comfortable,” said Heat guard Norman Powell. “We have to have that attack mentality. … We have to come out and be the aggressors defensively and offensively.”
