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How To Watch
TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket
Radio: AM 570 LA Sports
The Bad Guys
The Miami Heat enter tonight coming off a 104-98 victory against the Charlotte Hornets Friday night in Charlotte. On the season the Heat are now 14-14 and are 10th overall in the improved Eastern Conference. While not as badly hobbled as the Clippers, the Heat are without Justice Winslow after he suffered a left knee strain on Wednesday. His MRI came back negative on his left knee on Friday and he is expected to return within a week. Hassan Whiteside is the other notable injury as he is out with a knee bone bruise. He missed his eighth straight game Friday and it remains unclear when his return will be. Coach Erik Spoelstra noted on Wednesday that a timetable was murky as Whiteside would need multiple days of court work before returning.
For an alternative perspective, visit the Miami Heat’s SB Nation blog.
The Good Guys
The Clippers enter tonight 11-16 on the season and sit in 10th place in the Western Conference and two games back (one in the loss column) for the 8th seed. Milos Teodosic will suit up for the Clippers after sitting out last night’s game. It’s clear the offense could use his presence after the Clippers shot a putrid 38.8% from the field and 29.2% from three-point range. Hopefully Danilo Gallinari and Austin Rivers will also return to the Clippers’ lineup soon as well. In the meantime, the good guys will look for players to continue to step up. Jawun Evans particularly will look to build off a career best line of 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists from last night.
Hopefully the rested Teodosic can help lead the team to bounce back on the second half of a back-to-back road game. The Clippers’ murky playoff hopes would definitely benefit from a victory tonight because the last game of their road trip concludes in San Antonio. A victory tonight would at least allow the good guys a .500 road trip.