After a quick trip up north against the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers, a trip in which the Clippers split the pair of road games, they return home to Staples Center to face off against the Boston Celtics.
Game Information
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
When: 7:30 p.m. PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Luke Kennard – Paul George – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Celtics: Dennis Schroder – Marcus Smart – Grant Williams – Jayson Tatum – Robert Williams III
Injury Report
Clippers: Nicolas Batum questionable (return to competition conditioning), Kawhi Leonard out (right knee), Jason Preston out (right foot), Jay Scrubb (G League assignment), Keon Johnson (G League assignment).
Celtics: Jaylen Brown questionable (right hamstring), Bruno Fernando out (lower back)
The Big Picture
The Clippers starting lineup looks a little bit different from the last time they played a home game at Staples Center. Starting with last Friday’s game against the Lakers, Tyronn Lue opted to go big and put Serge Ibaka in with the starters while moving Paul George to shooting guard.
He tweaked that lineup again on the road putting Ibaka back with the second unit and instead giving Luke Kennard his shot at being in the starting lineup in hopes of trying to find some offensive consistency.
For the most part, the Clippers defense has continued to be solid while their offense has been very inconsistent, to put it mildly. Their defense is what has kept them in games and put them in situations to have a chance at a win, but their offense has doomed them. Even in wins like Monday night against the Trail Blazers, the Clippers offense sputtered for most of the game.
Every game is crucial for the Clippers who are hoping to keep pace with a bunch of other teams in the Western Conference.
The Antagonist
The Celtics come into the game being banged up themselves. All-Star Jaylen Brown has suffering from hamstring issues for the majority of the season. He missed eight games earlier, returned briefly, and then had to sit out again. He was officially ruled out against the Los Angeles Lakers and he most likely will miss the game against the Clippers.
The good news for them is they get back Al Horford and Romeo Langford on this West Coast road swing. Horford has been having a solid season in line with his career numbers. He’s been putting up 12.8 points per game, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. Langford hasn’t been featured too prominently in the rotation but with Brown out the minutes are there.
The Celtics have a similar record to the Clippers at 13-11 and in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. They’ve been in the upper half of the league in offense and near the middle defensively.
Notes
- The Clippers are almost back to full strength minus Kawhi Leonard. Nicolas Batum, who has been out of the lineup due to being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, is nearing a return following conditioning. Barring any other unforeseen injuries, his hopeful return against the Celtics will mark the first time all season since opening night that the Clippers will see what a healthy rotation without Leonard will look like.
- Brandon Boston Jr. has remained with the big club. While fellow rookie Keon Johnson has yet to be recalled from the Agua Caliente Clippers, Boston was brought back up and has actually gotten some regular rotation minutes. In the win over Portland, he had one of his best games as a pro to date with 13 points in about 19 minutes while shooting 50 percent from three-point range. His potential emergence as a contributor this season could be a crucial development for the Clippers.
