The Clippers will hold their third preseason game of 2025 up in Seattle against the Portland Trailblazers.
Game Information
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, KTLA
Projected Starting Lineups
Blazers: Scoot Henderson – Anfernee Simons – Deni Avdija – Jerami Grant – De’Andre Ayton
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Terance Mann – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe Out (Shoulder), Robert Williams III Out (Hamstring), Matisse Thybulle Questionable (Knee)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), Trentyn Flowers Out (Wrist), Bones Hyland Hip (Ankle), Derrick Jones Jr. Questionable (Head)
Notes
Injuries Piling Up: Its preseason and somehow the Clippers’ injury list is already pretty extensive. Trentyn Flowers was never going to play minutes for the Clippers this season, but Bamba being out has led to extensive Kai Jones minutes, Derrick Jones being injured could push other guys up in the rotation, and we all know what Kawhi’s absence means. It is better to be injured in preseason than the regular season, and its not the worst thing for guys lower down in the rotation to get more minutes – but having reps with the actual rotation players would be nice too. Hopefully the injuries to Bones, Jones, and Bamba are not serious, and those guys get back in the action sometime in preseason.
Staggering the Starters: Ty Lue apologized after the Nets game on Tuesday for the second unit (Kris Dunn-Kevin Porter Jr.-Amir Coffey-Nic Batum-Kai Jones) and said he would try to avoid that lineup going forward. That’s interesting, because with Bamba and Leonard out, there aren’t a ton of other options there. The solution is probably staggering James Harden with Norm Powell to always have one of them out there. I’d probably take out Norm early for Batum, Coffey, or Dunn, then have him replace Harden at some point. Whether that means one of the guards (Porter Jr or Coffey) would be out of the rotation or Ty would just squeeze the minutes in is unclear. He also mentioned getting Jones playing more with Harden and Zu with the second unit, so maybe Zu is the one who staggers. We will just have to see.
Looking at the Blazers: This is the Blazers’ first preseason game this year, somehow, and they’re a team that will be intriguing to watch this season. Projected as one of the worst teams in the West, the Blazers still have talent, with the 2023 3rd pick in Scoot Henderson and this year’s 7th pick Donovan Clingan as highlights. Scoot had a very disappointing rookie season, but if he can get back on track the Blazers could be a fun watch and a tougher team night-to-night. Another thing to monitor: how long do the Blazers hold onto veterans such as De’Andre Ayton, Robert Williams, Jerami Grant, and Matisse Thybulle. They could presumably get assets for some of those players, so moves might well be made to further strip the team down at the deadline.