Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 1/1/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Clippers

Date: Monday, January 1, 2024

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Bally Sports SoCal

The Miami Heat (19-13) are hitting the road to Crypto.com Arena on Monday where they will take on the Los Angeles Clippers (19-12).

The Heat played the Jazz and went home with a loss by a final score of 117-109 in their last game. Miami finished having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (34 out of 78) and made 9 out of their 31 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Heat converted 32 of 40 tries for a rate of 80.0%. In regard to pulling down boards, they earned a total of 46 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 20 assists in the matchup while forcing 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With respect to defending, Miami allowed 46.2% from the field on 43 out of 93 shooting. Utah doled out 29 assists and had 8 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Utah snagged 43 boards (9 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 8 blocked shots. Utah ended up shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of 28 shots. They also buried 11 of their 41 shots from distance. When it comes to fouls, the Heat walked away with 24 and the Jazz recorded 25 fouls.

Bam Adebayo is a guy who was a major factor in the game. He racked up 28 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He played for 37 minutes and snagged 16 boards. Adebayo shot 53.8% from the floor and also earned 3 assists.

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Miami will take the court with a record of 19-13 on the season. They turn it over 13.3 times per contest and as a group they commit 18.7 fouls per contest. As a unit, Miami is collecting 41.6 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 833 assists this year, which ranks 14th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Heat are connecting on 39.0% on 3-point shots (410 of 1,051) and 82.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 113.3 points per contest (20th in basketball) while shooting 47.2% from the field.

On defense, the Heat are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per game while drawing 20.5 fouls. They are 21st in the league in allowing assists with 856 conceded for the year. The Heat are giving up a FG percentage of 47.8% (1,317 of 2,756) and they surrender 42.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 36.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 7th in basketball in PPG allowed (111.7).

The last time they took the court, the Clippers took home the win by a final score of 117-106 when they played the Grizzlies. The Clippers were able to collect 43 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 54 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 17 times, while earning 3 steals for this contest. The Grizzlies were called for 22 fouls in the matchup which took the Clippers to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to bury 20 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Los Angeles converted 11 of their 39 attempts (28.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Clippers shot 43 out of 87 from the field which had them shooting 49.4%. The Clippers allowed the Grizzlies to make 38 out of 87 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.7% for this game. They shot 32.5% from three-point range via 13 of 40 and ended up shooting 17 out of 20 at the free throw line (85.0%). With respect to attacking the glass, Los Angeles permitted Memphis to pull down 33 in total (3 on the offensive glass).

Paul George ended up being a factor for the Clippers for this contest. George tallied 23 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 assists in this matchup. He buried 8 out of 21 for this contest for a rate of 38.1%, and added 7 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 19-12 on the year. The Clippers are committing 20.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 80.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.4 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.3 times per game. Los Angeles has accumulated 3,614 points this season (116.6 per game) and they pull in 44.0 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Clippers are connecting on 48.5% from the field, which is 6th in basketball.

The Clippers on defense are ranked 10th in the league in points allowed per contest with 112.2. They are forcing 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 45.9% from the field (5th in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense gives up 35.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (390 of 1,111) and their opponents are making 78.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 26.2 dimes and 42.5 total rebounds per game, which is 13th and 7th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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