Ten days after the Clippers lost the most important game of their season to that point, they play the same opponent again, the Portland Trailblazers, in what is by far their most meaningful regular season game of the year.
Game Information
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Brook Lopez
Blazers: Scoot Henderson – Jrue Holiday – Toumani Camara – Deni Avdija – Donovan Clingan
Injuries
Clippers: Isaiah Jackson Out (Ankle), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe Questionable (Fibula), Jerami Grant Doubtful (Calf), Vit Krejci Doubtful (Calf), Damian Lillard Out (Achilles)
The Big Picture
The Clippers followed up a huge win against the Mavs on Tuesday night with a dud against the (admittedly awesome) Thunder on Wednesday. The Clippers have been mediocre for almost an entire month now, as they’ve gone 7-7 since March 13 (they went 7-1 during the first two weeks of March) with all but one of their wins coming against tanking teams. This is the team I expected to see after the Harden and Zu trades: talented, but with some overlapping pieces and a serious weak spot at the center position. I’d like to see them make the playoffs, as I think it would be great experience for their young guys and would just be a positive outcome for the season, but any hopes of them pulling an upset have faded in the past four weeks.
The Antagonist
The Blazers have gone 9-5 in that same stretch since March 13, but just like the Clippers, nearly all of their wins have come against tanking teams: the Jazz, Nets, Pacers, Nets again, Bucks, Wizards, and Pelicans. Thus, it’s hard to say they’re playing that much better of late than the Clippers, though they did of course stomp the Clips last week in Inglewood. Jrue Holiday and Deni Avdija led the charge for the Blazers in that one, as they have basically all year, and the Clippers will need to do better jobs defending those guys if they’re going to pull off this win. In the middle Donovan Clingan has a big advantage against Brook Lopez, but unfortunately there’s not much the Clips can do about that right now.
Notes
Standings Watch Over: The Clippers are locked into the 8 or 9 seeds, as the Warriors are now locked into the 10 seed and the Suns are stuck at 7. If the Clippers win this game tonight, they will be the 8 seed. If they lose, they will have to win their last game of the season (against a Warriors team that will probably be resting guys) and the Blazers will have to lose their last game (against a Kings team with nothing to play for) to be 8. Thus, tonight’s game will more or less decide the 8 seed, which is a huge deal, as it means the Clippers could play the Spurs if they win the 7-8 matchup, and then have a second game to make the playoffs even if they lose. The 9 seed would be bad, as it’s one loss away from the offseason and even a win doesn’t guarantee the playoffs.
Rotation Check: This game is essentially a play-in game in its own right, and I’m very curious to see how Ty Lue handles rotations. Does he play nine guys in the rotation, like he did against the Mavs on Tuesday? Does Kobe Sanders get cut or significantly reduced in the rotation to give more minutes to the Clippers’ veterans? Do we see Kawhi crack the 40 minute mark? How much does Brook Lopez play? These are all questions I’m thinking about for tonight, which is a must win.