The Clippers just played the Lakers five days ago, losing on Friday night on the road at Crypto.com arena, and will now get a chance to settle the score at home in Inglewood.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:30 PM ET
How to Watch: KTLA, Clippervision, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Lakers: Luka Doncic – Austin Reaves – Matisse Thybulle – Ziaire Williams – Walker Kessler
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kobe Sanders – Isaiah Jackson
Injuries
Lakers: Adou Thiero Out (Knee)
Clippers: Brandon Ingram Out (Heel), Rui Hachimura Out (Quad), Max Strus Out (Foot), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Jordan Miller Out (Calf), Bradley Beal Out (Knee)
Prior Game Notes
The Clippers lost on Sunday in a game that was totally overshadowed by the injury to Jalen Williams late in the 4th quarter, resulting in multiple fractures and the Thunder star missing the rest of the season. On the Clippers side, the game was another feisty outing against a superior team where some of the veterans played well (Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Brook Lopez) and some were very bad (Rui Hachimura, Darius Garland). The Clippers being a competitive 1-2 with below average starts to the season for Rui and Garland is encouraging, but the biggest bright spot continues to be the play of Keaton Wagler, who is ready for large minutes and consistently impacts the team in a positive way.
The Antagonist
The Lakers are 3-0 as I’m writing this (they have a late game against the Blazers going on after I’ll be done putting this up) and have looked pretty good to start the season. Their dynamic backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is extremely difficult to guard for most teams, Walker Kessler looks like a perfect fit as the man in the middle, and the rest of the role players have played well enough to close any gaps. I still don’t trust in those guys 4-10 on the roster enough to view the Lakers as a contender, but if their top 3 guys are healthy they are going to be an excellent regular season team and will be a tough out every night.
Notes
Kobe Sanders, Starting: Kobe is starting in place of Rui, who is out with quad soreness. There has been no reporting on Rui’s injury being long-term, but for right now, it’s honestly probably a good thing he’s out, because he’s been a mess to start the season. Hopefully a game or two on the sidelines can clear Rui’s head and get him back into the swing of things. In the meantime, Kobe makes clear sense as the 5th starter, as he’s been quite effective on both sides of the ball early, and in particular will be a defensive upgrade over Rui. I don’t think Kobe is a starter long-term, but this will be a good opportunity for him to show what he can do in a larger role.
Does Baba Fill in as the Backup: Kobe starting means Ty Lue will have to backfill his spot on the bench, and Baba Miller seems like the most likely option. Baba played a bit in the rotation in games one and three and was quickly benched both times, though he did have a nice stretch in garbage time against the Kings. If the Clippers don’t trust Baba to fill in that rotation spot… there aren’t many other options, since they have 6 players out with injury. It would have to be one of the two-way guys, with Martinelli being the cleanest fit position-wise. I do think Baba will get a shot, and with so few active players, he might get real minutes in this one. Let’s hope he impressed and continues to earn minutes moving forward.