The Clippers will be trying to get revenge on a Spurs team that embarrassed them recently, but might have to do so without superstar Kawhi Leonard after he sprained his ankle Saturday night.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBCSN, Peacock, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Spurs: De’Aaron Fox – Stephon Castle – Devin Vassell – Julian Champagnie – Victor Wembanyama
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Spurs: Dylan Harper Questionable (Calf)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Doubtful (Ankle), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
The Big Picture
The Clippers dropped one of their worst losses in a while on Saturday, falling to the Kings at home in a defeat that was more or less wire-to-wire. There were some caveats – the Clippers were on the second night of a back-to-back and at the tail end of a five game in seven night schedule. Those games are always a struggle regardless of opponent. The Clippers also shot relatively poorly from three (9-27) while the Kings shot pretty well from three (12-27). But still, the Clippers just lacked a lot of the physicality, energy, and precision that they’ve had the past few weeks. It’s just one game, but losing to the Kings at home is tough, and hopefully the Clippers come out with a different focus tonight. Worse, Kawhi left early with injury – though nothing we’ve heard so far indicates it’s anything too serious.
The Antagonist
One of the marks of a contending team in the NBA is getting to 40 wins before 20 losses. The Spurs, at 49-18, are close to 50 wins before 20 losses. As the Clippers unfortunately found out a week or so ago when they blew a 25-point lead to the Spurs, the Spurs are shockingly mentally tough for a young team with virtually no playoff experience, and play with a force and confidence that can really grate on opponents. Boasting the 4th ranked offense and 3rd ranked defense in the NBA, the Spurs are a well-rounded team that is legitimately a contender to win the title (they might honestly be the second-favored team behind the Thunder) despite their youth. It’s been a remarkable season that should earn Wembanyama Defensive Player of the Year and get Mitch Johnson votes for Coach of the Year.
Notes
Kawhi Injury Status: The Clippers reported that Kawhi sprained his ankle against the Kings. Unfortunately, a sprained ankle is one of those things that varies widely in terms of intensity – it could cost Kawhi no other games, or multiple weeks. My guess would be that the Clippers are cautious with Kawhi, as they are more or less locked into a specific range in the postseason. It would be great if they could stick in the 8 seed instead of falling to the bottom of the play-in, but the most important thing is keeping Kawhi healthy. I’d thus guess he misses this game but is closer to truly questionable for the Clippers’ next contest on Wednesday.
Collins Back, but not Starting: John Collins returned against the Kings, but came off the bench for the first time this season, both because of a minutes limit and because Ty Lue probably didn’t want to disrupt the rhythm of the starting lineup. Collins looked healthy enough, and it was great to see him out there, even if the Clippers’ rotations did, as always, seem a bit more uneven due to reincorporating a major piece. As he reacclimates the question of whether he rejoins the starting unit or continues coming off the bench is going to be an interesting one. Of course, if Kawhi is out the starting lineup becomes easier, as Collins will slot into Kawhi’s spot alongside Dunn and DJJ.
