The Clippers return to the road to take on a surging Atlanta Hawks team, and will be missing at least one key role player.
Game Information
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
When: 4:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Terance Mann – Paul George – Kawhi Leoanrd – Marcus Morris – Ivica Zubac
Hawks: Trae Young – Dejounte Murray – De’Andre Hunter – John Collins – Clint Capela
Injuries
Clippers: Robert Covington Out (Personal), John Wall Out (Abdominal), Marcus Morris Questionable (Ribs)
Hawks: De’Andre Hunter Questionable (Illness)
The Big Picture
A four-game winning streak has the Clippers tied with the Pelicans for 4th in the West and just two games (though four losses) back of the Kings in 3rd. Their winning streak has come against awful (Spurs), injury-riddled (Lakers), or just decent (Mavs) teams, but the effort, energy level, and vibes ae all far better than they were two weeks ago. The Clippers’ run has been powered first and foremost by their stars – Kawhi Leonard looks like a full-fledged superstar, and Paul George as an All-NBA level sidekick. If those two guys stay healthy and keep playing at this level, the Clippers will keep winning lots of games regardless of what else happens around them. That said, the second push for the Clippers’ winning is improved rotations, with no Moses Brown, few multi-guard lineups, and a whole lot more Robert Covington. The offense has soared, and the defense has been a lot better. For the first time, this feels like the team we all expected.
The Antagonist
The Hawks, too, have turned things around in impressive fashion, and sit at 8th in the East after winning six of their last eight games. That surge, uncoincidentally, arrived roughly when Clint Capela returned to the lineup after a multi-week absence. While Onyeka Okongwu is good, Capela is a better rim-runner, rim-protector, and rebounder, and he bolsters the Hawks significantly on both ends. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray have both caught fire as well, especially Murray, and the Hawks too now more closely resemble their offseason projected team. Still, their bench isn’t great, and if Hunter is out they will have nobody to put on Kawhi Leonard. The Hawks are a dangerous team, yet the Clippers, even without RoCo and Wall and maybe Morris, have the clear talent edge.
Notes
RoCo Out: Robert Covington was ruled out a day early due to personal reasons, immediately sparking rumors that he is getting traded. While that is a possibility, the most likely reason he was ruled out, is, well, for some personal matter. Let’s just hope that the personal reason is a positive one (wedding, birth, etc.) and not a negative one.
Bench Unit: After spending much of the season out or on the fringes of the rotation, RoCo has been a critical element to it lately, and his absence opens up a spot. Ty Lue has said he would prefer not to go with three guards, though if Morris joins RoCo as an “out” he might not have a ton of choice. If Morris does play, the Clippers could either bring Nic Batum in early for Zubac to go small and then rotate Zu back in with the bench, or they could play Moussa Diabate or Moses Brown. Brown, notably, will be available after being in the G-League for a couple games to conserve his remaining two-way eligibility, so my guess is he slots into RoCo’s spot.
Attacking Trae Young: For as great as Trae Young is offensively, he has a strong case to be the worst defensive player in the NBA. The Clippers are also perfectly built to attack him and the Hawks, as any switch onto Kawhi or PG should mean a feast for the Clippers’ stars. Even if they “stash” Trae on Luke or Terance, those guys need to be aggressive in attacking Trae off the bounce and trying to draw fouls on him. There’s no reason for the Clippers to not relentlessly punish him anytime he’s on the court, especially against their starters, and getting him off the court through fouls would make the Clippers’ path to victory that much clearer.
First Night of Back to Back: As always in the first night of back to backs, there’s some strategy to rotations. If the Clippers are down big in the 3rd, does Ty pull his starters and try to conserve them? Will we see a ton of Kawhi minutes since he’s probably still not playing in the second games of back to backs? Will Luke or PG be playing on the second night? It remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if the Clippers push very hard to win this one.
