The Los Angeles Clippers look to continue their win streak against the visiting Orlando Magic.
Game Information
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
When: 12 PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, KTLA
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Russell Westbrook – Eric Gordon – Paul George – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Magic: Markelle Fultz – Gary Harris – Franz Wagner – Paolo Banchero – Wendell Carter Jr.
Injury Report
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard out (injury management), Norman Powell out (left shoulder), Brandon Boston Jr. out (tailbone), Jason Preston (G League Assignment), Moussa Diabate (G League Assignment), Xavier Moon (G League Assignment).
Magic: Jalen Suggs out (concussion)
The Big Picture
With the Clippers on the front end of a back-to-back, it’s not surprising that Kawhi Leonard is sitting this one out. The next opponent is the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday on the road, which is significantly more difficult than at home against the Orlando Magic.
Even with no Leonard and no Norman Powell, the Clipper should have enough to pull off a win. It’s no coincidence that the Clippers five-game losing streak came when Ivica Zubac missed four out of those five games. He’s back now and he needs to be featured prominently to take advantage of the smaller Magic frontline.
The Clippers got a little help on Friday from the Atlanta Hawks, who beat the Golden State Warriors to put a little more separation between them for the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for the Clippers they didn’t get any help from this same Magic team, who lost to the Phoenix Suns in a close game on Thursday.
The Clippers are finally starting to gain some momentum and display some consistency and they can’t afford to give that all away right now. 12 PM start times are always a trap game for the Clippers who haven’t always come out ready to play in these matinee games over the past couple of seasons.
The Antagonist
The Orlando Magic come to town as one of the worst teams in the NBA. They are not mathematically eliminated from postseason play just yet, but for all intents and purposes they are.
This is a very young team that is near the bottom of the league in both points per game and offensive rating. The Clippers can keep this team from scoring, even without Kawhi. Slowing down Rookie of the Year frontrunner Paolo Banchero is the key. Banchero is the team’s leading scorer and has a very bright future ahead of him.
The Magic don’t really have anything to lose and they just took the Suns down to the wire in their last game. This game screams trap game for the Clippers and maybe if this was a few weeks ago a loss might have been expected. But the Clippers should have turned the corner by now, and a win is much needed.
