With the NBA season continuing to roll along, two teams expected to compete for a 2013-2014 championship will meet Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. The two-time defending champion Miami Heat are once again expected to compete deep into the postseason and as they enter the upcoming match-up against the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami hopes the early-season meeting helps them prepare for the tough games they'll receive from opponents on a game-by-game basis.
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In turn, the Clippers hope to get back to winning ways after dropping a 98-90 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. "We win games, we score 100 or whatever points, that's always fool's gold," first year Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after his team's recent loss. "Our offense is always fool's gold. You've got to defend to win." Rivers also noted that his team's defense has been solid during the early part of the season, one of the reason's his team is able to jump out to leads over various opponents. "I think our defense is pretty good," Rivers told ESPN recently. "It's what's getting us our leads, but then we break down. I thought early on we were scoring and getting stops, scoring and getting stops, and right now, it seems when we get that lead, we kind of break down in our focus. We have to be a better defensive team than we are, and we have to continue to play offense." Since dropping two-straight after opening the season with a 107-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Heat have won back-to-back games over the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors. Looking to earn a high-profile victory at home against one of the best teams in the Western Conference, Shane Battier knows what his team is capable of, especially when defending League MVP LeBron James is playing at a high level.
