Before any of that matters, Miami plays the Clippers in LA on Wednesday. Whatever happens there, the Heat will show up at Chase Center on the second night of a back-to-back, game 3 of a 5-game road trip. Golden State will have had 2 full days off after the Suns game. The Wednesday result will decide how Miami's form looks coming in. It won't change the schedule, and the schedule favors the home team. Tip is 7:00 PM PT.
Clippers124-112
Klay Thompson is the subplot nobody in the Bay needs explained. He's back in San Francisco in a Heat jersey and coming off a good shooting night against the Lakers, part of a new-look Miami roster built around Giannis. In the Lakers loss the Heat trailed by only 7 at the half before a 32-21 3rd quarter put it away. That's the pattern Miami has to fix: hanging around for 24 minutes and then giving up a run they can't answer.
Golden State's injury report is long. Jimmy Butler (ACL) isn't due back until January at the earliest. Moses Moody (patellar tendon) is aiming for December or January. Kristaps Porzingis is away from the team indefinitely, and ESPN's Anthony Slater reports the Warriors are exploring trades involving him. The bigger question for Thursday is the frontcourt. Al Horford was rested against Phoenix and Gui Santos missed that game with a knee issue, which leaves the Warriors thin on bodies to throw at Giannis. Miami's report is clean. If Horford plays, Golden State has a credible answer inside. If he doesn't, Giannis gets the matchup the Heat want, and the question becomes whether tired legs on a back-to-back let him use it.
