The Clippers will seek to extend their win streak to three games with a home contest against the tanking Pacers and old friend Kobe Brown.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Pacers: Kam Jones – Ben Sheppard – Jarace Walker – Obi Toppin – Jay Huff
Clippers: Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Kobe Sanders – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton Out (Achilles), Ivica Zubac Out (Ankle),Pascal Siakam Questionable (Wrist), Aaron Nesmith Questionable (Ankle), Andrew Nembhard Questionable (Back), Johnny Furphy Out (Knee)
Clippers: Jonn Collins Out (Neck), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
The Big Picture
It certainly wasn’t their most impressive win of the season, but the Clippers’ victory over the Warriors on Monday night was probably the most important to this point. The Warriors’ advantage over the Clippers in the standings is now just a single game, and the Clippers can get even with the Warriors by the end of the night. After a sloppy and sluggish first half, the Clippers turned things on in a big way in the second, and got a rollicking win on the road. Not everything has to be pretty, especially in games that are so important for the standings: for the Clippers, and their desperate struggle to get into the top half of the play-in race, a win is a win.
The Antagonist
The Pacers have lost six games in a row, putting them at a woeful 15-46 mark on the season. It’s been a far cry from the team that was one game away from winning the NBA Championship last season, with the reversal in standings due to injury, departures, and a shift toward tanking as their lack of ability to make the postseason became apparent. The Pacers, frankly, like a good chunk of other NBA teams right now, are not trying to win games. That doesn’t mean they won’t win occasionally, when their players get hot or when the opposing team is cold, or something else weird happens. But they are a team that good teams should be able to beat if they play hard and professionally across 48 minutes.
Notes
Garland off the Bench: Darius Garland came off the bench in his first game as a Clipper, and logged well under 30 minutes played. I’d imagine the minutes limit keeps up for at least a few games, but I do wonder how long Garland will continue playing as a reserve. It wouldn’t shock me if Garland was moved into the starting unit as soon as tonight, though I think another game or two off the bench is reasonable as well. The rotations are a bit cleaner to me if Garland starts, even if he does have a restriction, but easing him into action makes sense too.
Jordan Miller Cooking: After a brief lull in play, Jordan has surged back over the past 10 days. In his last four games, Jordan is shooting an incredible 20/26 from the field (77%) while shooting 14/17 from the line and dishing 10 assists to just two turnovers. A lot of Clippers fans were expecting Jordan to be the odd man out when the Clippers reached full strength with Garland healthy, but I really think Miller has been too good for too much of the Clippers’ winning part of the season to go away from entirely. If he continues playing like this, it’s hard to imagine Jordan gets excised from the rotation, though I could see his minutes decreasing a bit.
Kobe Brown Returns: This will be the first time the Clippers have played the Pacers since their massive trade at the deadline. Unfortunately, Ivica Zubac is still out, and honestly I’m not sure if he will even be at the game. If he is, I imagine a lengthy tribute video is planned for the big fella, who was a huge part of the Clippers’ organization for almost seven years. A former Clipper who will actually be playing in this one is Kobe Brown, who has had some nice moments for the Pacers and is actually receiving a lot of minutes for them. I kind of doubt Kobe gets anything beyond a thank you message, but I imagine he’s inspired to go pretty hard in this one regardless.
