After being mostly healthy for a game or two, the Clippers are suddenly rather beat up again as the head down the stretch of the 2026 season.
Game Information
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – John Collins – Brook Lopez
Pelicans: Dejounte Murray – Herb Jones – Saddiq Bey – Trey Murphy III – Zion Williamson
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Questionable (Ankle), Darius Garland Questionable (Injury Management), Bennedict Mathurin Out (Toe), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
Pelicans: Dejounte Murray Questionable (Illness),Bryce McGowens Out (Toe)
The Big Picture
The Clippers dropped their second game in a row on Monday night, but this loss – to an excellent Spurs team without Kawhi Leonard – was quite understandable. The Clippers in general have looked very good when Kawhi has played at the otherworldly level he’s mostly occupied since late December, and extremely beatable on the nights he has not. Thus, it’s hard to have a ton of faith in them winning any game on the road without Kawhi, even against a Pelicans team that is just 23-46. Plenty of other Clippers are playing well, and they certainly have a chance tonight, but the confidence level is just not the same.
The Antagonist
The Pelicans have strung together some better play over the past month since Dejounte Murray has returned, but it’s hard to take much away from “Mickey Mouse March” when the Pelicans’ season was over in December. The Pelicans, as always, have a lot of talent, and for once that talent is pretty healthy, which is translating to wins. The good news for the Pels is that as they continue to win and the other worst teams in the NBA continue to lose, they will keep moving up in the standings and forfeit what will probably be a good pick to the Hawks in this draft instead of an incredible one. The bad news is that in order to win games the Pelicans have pushed both of their prized rookies, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, to the bench. Zion Williamson and Queen are not a good fit, and with the Pelicans trying to win it made sense to bench the rook, but it still doesn’t portend great.
Notes
Mathurin Out: Bennedict Mathurin was unexpectedly ruled out of not just tonight’s game but Thursday and Saturday’s as well with soreness in his big toe. Mathurin has been a huge piece for the Clippers since the trade deadline, averaging 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game while closing the majority of close games as the Clippers’ 6th man. Despite the gaudy numbers, the actual experience has been a bit more inconsistent – but on the whole, Mathurin has helped a lot with his scoring juice. In his absence, expect more Jordan Miller and for Kobe Sanders to re-enter the rotation in a meaningful way. I wonder if we even get a look at Bogdan Bogdanovic.
To Sit or Not to Sit: The Clippers have an interesting choice to make tonight and Thursday during this back-to-back in New Orleans. Do they play Garland one night and Kawhi the other to give themselves a decent shot in both games? Do they sit them both the same night and take the L in that game but give themselves a much stronger shot at the other contest? Or is there not strategy at all involved and Kawhi is truly questionable, making his appearance in either game truly a matter of health? I’d guess that Garland plays tonight and Kawhi plays tomorrow, but that’s merely a guess, and probably a bad one. Especially with Mathurin out, the Clippers are going to be very low on scoring/playmaking if just one of Garland or Kawhi sits.
