Clippers vs. Heat Preview

What to watch for in Friday's game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena

The Miami Heat are the league's best team at home, going 20-1 this season. They have won nine straight since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers Dec. 13 ... The Heat won their last two games in overtime, defeating the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards. Jimmy Butler is the Heat's leading scoring at 20.3 points a game and averages seven rebounds and 6.5 assists. In the last 10 games, reserve point guard Goran Dragic has averaged 16.1 points and 5.5 assists ... Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. recently accepted an invite to participate in the slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star Weekend ... Forward Chris Silva, who began the season on a two-way contract, will spend the next three days playing for the organization's G League affilaite in Sioux Falls. He is expected to rejoin the team for Monday's game against Orlando Magic ... The Heat are in the third of a five-game homestand ... Justise Winslow (back) will not play. It will be the eighth straight game he has missed. Winslow has only played 11 games this season ... The Clippers are coming off a 105-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, ending a four-game winning streak. The Hawks were without All-Star guard Trae Young ... Guard Lou Williams is averaging 19.9 points and 6.1 assists ... Los Angeles is scoring 115.6 points per game and shooting 46 percent as a team ... Kawhi Leonard (knee), Paul George (hamstring) and Patrick Beverley (groin) are all game-time decisions ... This is the first meeting between the teams. 


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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here