The Clippers have had a couple days of rest, and now have a back-to-back of matinee weekend games starting with the Bulls.
Game Information
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
When: 1PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal
Tickets: For great deals on Clippers tickets, check out Barry’s Tickets!
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Terance Mann – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Bulls: Coby White – Ayo Dosunmu – DeMar DeRozan – Andre Drummond – Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report
Clippers: Russell Westbrook out (hand), James Harden Questionable (Shoulder), Kawhi Leonard Questionable (Groin), Paul George Questionable (Knee)
Bulls: Lonzo Ball out (knee), Zach LaVine out (foot), Patrick Williams out (foot).
The Big Picture
The LA Clippers return home after a semi-successful three-game road trip. Even though they went 2-1, they found themselves trailing by double-digits during their wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets and blew a large lead in their loss to the Bucks.
Nevertheless, wins are wins and the Wolves win was incredibly impressive especially considering the Clippers poor play against them so far this season.
As they return home for a few games, health is one of the key areas of focus for the Clippers. Although they have starting center Ivica Zubac back in the lineup, he’s still hampered by the effects of his illness and he did not play in the second half against the Rockets.
Defensively, the Clippers need to be better, especially to start games. They’ve managed to dig themselves out of holes in recent games but that’s not conducive to winning basketball. Rebounding has to be better as well. Against the Rockets, Houston was just quicker to loose balls after missed shots.
Those aforementioned issues could be addressed with the presence of a healthy Zubac; it can’t be stressed enough how important he is to this team.
The Antagonist
The Chicago Bulls come to town essentially locked into one of the play-in spots in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are stuck in no-man’s-land. Not bad enough to tank and not good enough to scare anyone in postseason play.
They’re a .500 team but they aren’t pushovers either. They’ll come out ready to play and if the game stays close, well DeMar DeRozan turns into prime Michael Jordan in the clutch.
If Zubac is not able to play or is not effective, that could be trouble for the Clippers. The Bulls present a big frontline of Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. Drummond in particular is a good rebounder and tough to keep off the glass for a smaller lineup.
Weekend matinee games have never been easy for the Clippers and they’re facing not one, but two in a row. It doesn’t get easier with the Milwaukee Bucks in town on Sunday and Giannis Antetokounmpo probably expected to play. He missed the last game in Milwaukee this past week. The Bulls game is a game the Clippers need to get.
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