Heat's Whiteside knocks Clippers' Jordan ahead of matchup

MIAMI -- Only one thing remains to make this a great Florida trip for the Los Angeles Clippers: beating the Miami Heat on Friday night.

Already the trip includes two highlights.

On Tuesday night, Clippers guard Austin Rivers had his No. 25 high school jersey retired at Winter Park, Fla., which is in the Orlando area.

Better yet, the entire Clippers team was there. They flew in from Los Angeles late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. They arrived in Orlando at 6 p.m., but their bus got a flat tire on the way to Winter Park High.

The 20 Clippers representatives in the bus -- including Los Angeles coach and Austin's father, Doc Rivers -- then called several Ubers to make sure they got to the gym on time for the 7:30 tip, which they did.

Rivers became just the second athlete to have a jersey retired in the Winter Park gym -- the first was his sister Callie, who won three state titles in volleyball.

"I'm so appreciative of everyone who came out," Austin Rivers said. "I'm very grateful."

Rivers was also grateful that he passed a concussion test after missing the Clippers' game Monday due to that issue.

He not only passed the test, but he also proved he was in fine form by scoring a team-high and season-high 25 points Wednesday in a 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic. He matched a career high by making seven 3-pointers, converting on 7 of 10 from long distance.

Now comes the last part of what could be a great Clippers trip to the Sunshine State, and beating the Heat (9-17) is not the arduous assignment it used to be.

However, Miami won its past two games and is feeling a bit better about itself as a team. Heat center Hassan Whiteside -- never lacking for confidence -- felt empowered to take some shots at Clippers center DeAndre Jordan on Thursday.

"No," Whiteside said when asked whether his game and Jordan's are similar. "He catches lobs. I shoot jumpers, catch lobs, block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs."

Keep in mind, Jordan last season was a first-team All-NBA player. On Wednesday, Jordan became the all-time Clippers leader in blocked shots.

Whiteside doesn't care about that and doesn't give Jordan much credit, either.

"(Jordan's) got CP3 as a point guard -- a great North Carolina point guard, I'd like to add," Whiteside said.

Translation: Jordan is made to look good because he has Chris Paul, a nine-time NBA All-Star, throwing him easy passes at the rim.

The Clippers (19-7) won both meetings with the Heat last season. Jordan missed the first matchup, and Whiteside played in a reserve role, averaging just 22 minutes in those two games.

This time, Whiteside is the focal point of the Heat's plans. He is not only a starter but also has a four-year, $98 million contract as tangible prove of his value.

The tale of the tape between the big men shows a lot of similarities.

Whiteside, a 27-year-old from North Carolina, is 7 feet, 265 pounds. He shoots 53.7 percent on free throws.

Jordan, a 28-year-old native of Texas, is 6-11, 265 pounds. He shoots 54.1 percent on free throws.

Both men entered the league as second-round picks. Jordan was the 35th overall pick in 2008. Whiteside was picked 33rd in 2010.

There are significant differences, however: Jordan has spent his entire career with the Clippers while Whiteside has played with 10 teams, most of them in leagues other than the NBA.

Despite the relatively late start to finding his niche, Whiteside has better numbers than Jordan this season in a few key areas, averaging 17.6 points, 14.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Jordan is averaging 11.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks

However, Jordan shoots 65 percent from the floor. Whiteside, who has indeed expanded his game beyond dunks, shoots 54.2 percent from the floor.

In other storylines regarding Friday's game:

--Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute missed the Wednesday game due to a sore shoulder. It was his first missed game of the season.

--Heat guard Tyler Johnson missed practice Thursday due to an unspecified illness.