Well, the Miami Heat fall late in the game yet again, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Miami Heat were without many key players, but so were the Clippers. The only issue was that the best player on the floor didn’t play like it. Anyway, here are five takeaways from this loss….

#1: First quarter fire, second quarter struggles.

The first half was a roller coaster of emotions for Miami. The Heat came out with the necessary fire and energy, which led to Miami expanding their lead by a decent margin early in the first quarter. The main reason for that was just plainly shot making, since Miami has not been hitting many triples as of late. And the Clippers not being able to connect on shots beyond the arc also led to that. Either way, this shorthanded Miami team battled to get an early lead, but couldn’t fully sustain it once that same intensity wore off. The same shots weren’t falling in the second quarter, and Bam Adebayo didn’t have it going like usual. Tyler Herro also got a decent sized rest, which is important since overplaying him after missing the last seven games is the last thing they want to do. Miami provided both the highs and lows of this Heat team that are seen nightly.

#2: Two-way guys lead Miami in first half.

The Heat’s two leading scorers in the first half were Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. For starters, Gabe looked like the player that the coaching staff is used to seeing. When the three ball begins to drop, his offensive play begins to pop. But I still don’t believe that is his best attribute. He’s most comfortable once he gets inside the three point line, since his shooting balance allows him to stop on a dime on pull-ups, and he can get to the rim fairly easy. Max Strus also showed life in the first half, knocking down the triples that were given to him. It’s hard to truly see other parts of his offensive game, since the outside shooting seems to be the only part that is polished, but on a shorthanded night like tonight, that shooting was much needed. But when the team’s two-way guys are the leading scorers, I’m not so sure that’s a positive.

#3: There were certain stretches that proved the importance of Goran Dragic.

We can go through each and every player that Miami is missing, and how they could’ve impacted tonight’s game, but the Goran Dragic absence is the one that stuck out the most. Miami had a decent sized lead in the second quarter, and that’s when the offense grew stagnant. And once the offense grows stagnant, that’s usually Goran’s queue to go be aggressive and score the basketball. And as mentioned, Tyler Herro sitting on the sideline during these stretches didn’t help this cause as well. Everybody’s aware of the impact Goran Dragic has on this team, but the situational spots when he doesn’t play just jump off the screen.

#4: A third quarter Clippers three point contest.

Well, after the Los Angeles Clippers poor three point shooting display to begin the game as discussed before, they caught fire in the third quarter. I discussed Miami missing Goran Dragic in spots tonight, but not having Andre Iguodala, Avery Bradley, and Jimmy Butler led to that third quarter offensive showing from the Clippers. Now, there’s no reason to make that excuse, since this Clippers team without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverley should be a group that Miami can handle. But Miami’s lack of good defenders makes it hard to bounce back once beginning to play from behind. It’s hard to put your finger on certain parts of the game every night, since it seems to always be something new that leads to a trailing Miami Heat team.

#5: Bam Adebayo lack of aggression to Precious Achiuwa full of intensity.

Bam Adebayo was just plainly not the same guy that has been seen lately. That’s not just because his shots weren’t falling, which clearly was the case. But more importantly, the issue was that he lacked intensity on both ends of the floor tonight. The one player that didn’t lack energy and intensity on either end tonight though was Precious Achiuwa. When it seemed like the game was definitely out of reach in the fourth quarter, Precious was inserted and Miami went on a 10-0 run. There was just nobody to spark this Heat team tonight, so the rookie had to step up in that area. It’s very promising for the team’s future with this new gem they got in the draft, but Coach Spo not playing him with Bam leads to less minutes for Precious, which can be problematic.