The Miami Heat wants a win after dropping its last two games on the West Coast to fall to 1-2 on its five-game trip amid ongoing injury issues. But to get one, the Heat may need to deal with a player that even Father Time is having trouble defeating.
That’s the 39-year-old LeBron James, who is averaging 25.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range for the Los Angeles Lakers in his 21st NBA season.
“All the work that he puts in behind the scenes, I don’t think that gets talked about enough,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of James earlier this season. “Most people don’t see it and they assume that he doesn’t. They just assume that he’s the best athlete in this game, which he was for so many years. But he’s been able to maintain this level because of all that other stuff.
“There will be a day where he can still dominate even without the physical tools, he can do it with his size and his brain. But he’s nowhere near that. He can still do it physically, as well.”
James is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Heat because of a non-COVID illness.
Spoelstra knows James better than most NBA coaches after spending four seasons as James’ head coach with the Heat from 2010-14. Spoelstra and James won two NBA championships together in 2012 and 2013.
For perspective, James is on pace to join Michael Jordan and Karl Malone as the only players in NBA history to average 20 or more points per game in a season at age 39 or older. And James is on pace to average the most points ahead of Malone’s 20.6 per game in 2002-03 and Jordan’s 20 per game in 2002-03.
Another big difference? James is on track to become the only one among the three to do it while shooting better than 50 percent from the field, as Malone shot 46.2 percent from the field and Jordan shot 44.5 percent from the field during that season.
James is also on his way to joining Tim Duncan, Robert Parish and Malone as the only players to average seven or more rebounds per game in a season at age 39 or older while also joining John Stockton as the only players to average seven or more assists per game in a season at that age.
“It’s definitely respect for what he did for this organization, but also all the others he’s played for,” Heat center Bam Adebayo when asked about facing James. “You respect that greatness. As a competitor, I’m going out there and I’m trying to get the W. He deserves his flowers. He’s done a lot of great things in this league. But when we step between those lines, your will versus mine, I want the W.”
The Heat, though, is battling its own issues after suffering its most lopsided defeat of the season in a 121-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night in Los Angeles. And most of those issues have to do with injuries.
The Heat, which entered Tuesday with the fourth-most missed games this season due to injury, were without four rotation regulars against the Clippers. Miami was missing Jimmy Butler (right foot irritation), Caleb Martin (right ankle sprain), Josh Richardson (left back facet syndrome) and Haywood Highsmith (concussion protocol).
That left the Heat without four of its top perimeter defenders and it showed, as a Clippers offense led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George shredded the Heat’s defense whether Miami was in man or zone. The Clippers totaled 121 points on 58.8 percent shooting from the field and 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) shooting from three-point range, as the Heat recorded its fifth-worst single-game defensive rating of the season.
The Heat, which has finished with a top-10 defensive rating in seven of the last eight seasons, entered Tuesday with the NBA’s 13th-ranked defensive rating this season.
“I have to go to work and we have to get to work on that,” Spoelstra said. “Defensively, we can be better. That’s not taking away from anything that the Clippers did. We struggled again in one-on-one situations, whether it was in the man or in zone, when they just kind of isolated in the zone. Repeated attacks off the dribble. There’s some that these guys are great players, so if they hit it over the top for something where they get to their spots. But the ones that they broke our defense down and got either a layup or right at the rim, those were just way too costly.”
Some of those problems can be fixed by the Heat simply getting healthier. But while their injuries are not considered long-term ones, there’s no clear timetable for the returns of Butler, Highsmith, Martin and Richardson, and Highsmith left the team on Monday to return to Miami as he goes through the NBA’s concussion protocol.
The Heat already ruled out Butler, Highsmith and Dru Smith (right knee surgery) for Wednesday’s matchup against the Lakers. Martin is listed as doubtful and Richardson is listed as questionable.
“Our strength is in our numbers,” Heat veteran Kevin Love said. “When we’re whole, we’re very tough to beat.”
The problem is the Heat isn’t whole and to avoid a third straight loss and a 1-3 start to the trip, the Heat will probably need to find answers to overcome James’ greatness and its own injuries. The Lakers (17-17) have their own problems, with losses in eight of their last 11 games after a 14-9 start to the season.
“We’ll do whatever we have to do. Everybody is ready,” Spoelstra said. “Nobody cares if we have guys out and we’re not making any excuses for it.”
DRU SMITH UNDERGOES SURGERY
The Heat announced Tuesday that Smith “underwent successful right ACL reconstruction surgery on December 29. The two-hour procedure was performed by Dr. Harlan Selesnick at Doctors Hospital Ambulatory Surgical Center.
“Smith will miss the remainder of the season but can begin rehabilitation immediately. There is no timetable for his return at this time.”
Smith sustained the injury during a Nov. 22 win over the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024, 1:24 PM.
Anthony Chiang covers the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and was born and raised in Miami.
