The LA Clippers gear up for their final home game of the regular season against the skeleton crew Portland Trail Blazers.
Game Information
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
When: 1 PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Russell Westbrook – Eric Gordon – Kawhi Leonard – Nicolas Batum – Ivica Zubac
Blazers: Skylar Mays – Jeenathan Williams – Trendon Watford – John Butler Jr. – Drew Eubanks
Injury Report
Clippers: Paul George out (right knee), Marcus Morris Sr. out (back).
Blazers: Damian Lillard out (right calf), Ibo Badji out (left knee), Jerami Grant out (left quad), Keon Johnson out (right finger), Nassir Little out (left ankle), Jusuf Nurkic out (right knee), Justice Winslow out (left ankle), Cam Reddish questionable (lumbar), Shaedon Sharpe probable (left knee), Matisse Thybulle out (right knee), Drew Eubanks questionable (right ankle), Trendon Watford probable (right ankle), Kevin Knox probable (right quad).
The Big Picture
The Clippers are coming off their biggest game of the season, a win against the Lakers that essentially allowed them to avoid the play-in tournament. They control their destiny when it comes to where they will finish in the Western Conference standings.
They most likely will have the same available players against the Blazers as they did against the Lakers. That means everyone should be available with the exception of Paul George and Marcus Morris.
The Clippers still have something to play for, as they are nowhere near out of the woods yet. The play-in is still very much in play. The New Orleans Pelicans are just one loss back of the Clippers after their win against the Knicks tonight and they hold the tie-breaker.
There’s also the question of the Golden State Warriors, who could also surpass the Clippers in the standings. The Clippers hold the tie-breaker over the Warriors though, so they would only need to finish with an identical record, something they cannot afford to do against the Pelicans.
Saturday’s game is still a must-win. And it has the makings of the ultimate trap game of all trap games. The Portland Trail Blazers have been running a skeleton crew the last few games and that is sure to continue. It’s an early game as well, something that hasn’t been so kind to the Clippers in recent seasons.
There’s been chatter of teams potentially trying to ‘tank’ their playoff standings to end up sixth and therefore draw the Sacramento Kings in the first round. The Clippers should not fall into that trap. Too many things can go wrong. Simply win out and let the chips fall where they may.
The Antagonist
The Portland Trail Blazers were once battling for playoff positioning this season, but the train has come off the rails. Damian Lillard was shut down for the season along with pretty much every serviceable player the Blazers have.
They’re out there running the ultimate skeleton crew. They have a couple of G League guys in the starting lineup and coming off the bench. They’re barely even trying to play spoiler. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games.
It’s officially that time of the season when NBA teams trot out lineups that will have you typing names into Google to figure out who they are. There really isn’t much to say about this current Blazers group except that the Clippers need to take care of business, put the game away early, and therefore allow everyone to get some extra bit of rest.