The super short handed LA Clippers will start a two-game road back-to-back on Tuesday in Portland as they take on the Trail Blazers. While the Clippers are used to playing short handed, they will be especially short-handed tonight, with John Wall added to the injury report (knee injury management). Check out our preview of Tuesday’s Clippers vs. Blazers game below:
Game Information
Where: Moda Center, Portland, OR
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: KTLA, TNT
How to Listen: AM 570 KLAC
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Terance Mann – Amir Coffey – Marcus Morris, Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Blazers: Anfernee Simons – Josh Hart – Jerami Grant – Justise Winslow – Jusuf Nurkic
Injuries
Clippers: OUT: Kawhi Leonard (ankle); Paul George (hamstring); Luke Kennard (calf); John Wall (knee management). G-League Assignment: Brandon Boston, Moussa Diabate, and Jason Preston.
Blazers: OUT: Damian Lillard (calf); Gary Payton II (abdomen); Keon Johnson (hip).
The Big Picture
The LA Clippers rotation will only be nine-deep on Tuesday, with Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and Moses Brown being the only reserves available. The Blazers, though, will also be pretty limited: they’re missing their best player (Lillard) and a defensive guard they were expecting to count on this season in Gary Payton II.
The Clippers should actually match up fairly well with this Blazers. The main concerns will be Anfernee Simons (averaging 23.2 points this season), Jerami Grant (21.5 points), and Jusuf Nurkic (14 and 10 rebounds). Terance Mann should be able to manage Simons relatively well, Amir Coffey and Nico Batum will take the lead on Grant, and Zubac is more than capable to match up with Nurkic.
Moreover, the Blazers will likely be forced to play Justise Winslow on Marcus Morris, Sr., which is a huge advantage for the Clippers. And, finally, the “X” factor for this game could be Norm Powell, who will play his former team for the first time on Tuesday. If Norm can carry a big scoring load on the bench unit to make up for John Wall’s absence, the Clippers will have a shot to steal this game.
The Antagonist
On the other hand, according to Stat Muse, the Clippers are an abysmal 27-89 in Portland across franchise history (although are 3-1 in the Ty Lue era). And we should also expect that Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups will have a better scouting report than most given his time with the Clippers and the mentorship he’s received from Ty Lue.
Finally, while Norm might be the “X” factor, Reggie Jackson could easily cancel him out. After three really nice games against the Pistons, Spurs, and Jazz, Reggie has been less than effective in the last three games (Warriors, Nuggets, and Pacers). To be fair, Reggie is asked to do a lot—especially with Kawhi and George out. Nonetheless, the Clippers will need him to be efficient and protect the ball, in order to beat the Blazers on Tuesday.
That about does it for this preview of the super short handed Clippers’ game against the Blazers. As always, check out The Lob The Jam The Podcast and Clips ‘N Dip for analysis throughout the week, and follow us on Twitter to watch the game with us!
