The Clippers’ third regular season game of the 2022 NBA season comes against the rival Portland Trailblazers, who are returning a number of the same players as last season but with some key differences. Keep reading for a full game preview of the Clippers’ first battle against the Blazers this season.
Game Information
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Blazers: Damian Lillard – CJ McCollum – Nassir Little – Robert Covington – Jusuf Nurkic
Clippers: Eric Bledsoe – Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Marcus Morris – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Blazers: Norm Powell Out (Knee), Tony Snell Out (Foot)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Serge Ibaka Out (Back), Jason Preston Out (Foot), Keon Johnson Questionable (Illness)
The Big Picture
The Clippers are 0-2, and while some of their players have not gotten off to the greatest of starts, the team as a whole is not exactly in dire straits yet. Their two losses were close, against decent to good teams, and had at least some flukiness regarding their shooting and that of the opposition. That said, it’s never good to start the season two games down in the loss column, especially with how tightly packed the middle of the Western Conference is likely to be this season. Outside of the Thunder and Rockets, there will likely be no “gimme” wins, making every game count that much more. Hopefully with better shooting and some stouter defense, the Clippers can notch their first win of the season.
The Antagonist
The Blazers’ troika of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic have been together for over a half-decade now, and other bench players such as Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little have been around for a minute as well. However, that aura of familiarity is not quite the whole story, as the Blazers have a new coach (Chauncey Billups, recently of the Clippers) replacing long-time coach Terry Stotts as well as a bevy of fresh role players (Larry Nance, Cody Zeller, and Ben McLemore). As long as Lillard and McCollum are around the Blazers’ offense will be driven largely through those two guards, while those same players will remain their weak spots on defense. Plagued by injuries last year, a healthy Blazers team is a pretty good squad, especially with better depth, and Lillard and McCollum are obviously explosive on offense. They are going to be a tough out each and every night.
Notes
PG-Blazers Beef: Paul George has had some long-running issues with the Blazers, notably Lillard (and McCollum to a lesser extent), and it will be fun to see him against Portland as the lead option. PG has been dynamite to start the season, and with Powell out, the Blazers lost their best defensive option on George. Robert Covington will likely draw that assignment, but he’s a better team and help defender than he is a stopper, so George should be able to do quite well against the Blazers. If one of the Blazers’ guards go off, it will likely be up to PG to answer the call, so hopefully an old-school style duel will happen at some point, complete with trash talking.
Going Small too Much: With Serge Ibaka out, the Clippers have gone small quite a bit to start the season. Ivica Zubac has not cracked 20 minutes played in either game and Isaiah Hartenstein didn’t even check in against the Warriors in Game 1. That has meant a lot of Marcus Morris and even Justise Winslow at center lineups – and those have not gone well. Neither of them is a rim protector, and the Clippers are also going so small around them (with players like Paul George or Terance Mann at the 4) that the rebounding and interior defense is just non-existent. Zu isn’t a world-beater, but he’s a solid starting center, and Hartenstein is a perfectly capable backup. It would be nice to see them play more, especially against a team like the Blazers that plays big and can punish opposing teams on the offensive glass. The small-ball lineups are particularly ineffective with Morris looking as bad as he has. If the Clippers do go small in this one, hopefully it’s with Nic Batum at center.
That about does it for this game preview of the Clippers’ first matchup against the Blazers of the 2022 season. Give us your thoughts on the game in the comments below!
