Coming off the high of a historic comeback victory, the Clippers have to take on the lowly Magic on the road, and can’t get complacent. Keep reading for a full preview of the Clippers’ game against the Magic.
Game Information
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
When: 4:00 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Terance Mann – Amir Coffey – Nic Batum – Ivica Zubac
Magic: Jalen Suggs – Cole Anthony – Chuma Okeke – Franz Wagner – Wendell Carter Jr.
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Paul George Out (Elbow), Marcus Morris Questionable (Personal), Jason Preston Out (Foot), Keon Johnson Out (G-League)
Magic: Mo Bamba Questionable (Ankle), Markelle Fultz Out (Knee), Jonathan Isaac Out (Knee), Michael Carter-Williams Out (Ankle), E’Twaun Moore Out (Knee)
The Big Picture
The Clippers are back to just a game under .500 after completing a historic 35-point comeback last night against the Washington Wizards. With no Kawhi Leonard, no Paul George, no Marcus Morris, and just limited minutes from other key starters, the “Canoes” rallied from a massive deficit to steal a last-second victory. While the Clippers being down 35 is emblematic of the issues they’ve had this year with frequent lack of top-end talent and even more frequent shifts of moribund offensive play, their energy, fight, and heart have been proven 10 times over. Those qualities will be much needed on the last leg of this road trip, as the Clippers complete a back to back tonight as part of a five games in seven days stretch. Fortunately, several of their starters playing so little last night could actually be a major boon for the contest tonight.
The Antagonist
The Magic are 9-39, the worst record in the NBA. That said, it’s hard to call their season a failure considering they were never supposed to be good this year in the first place. Rookie coach Jamahl Mosley seems to be doing well, Cole Anthony has had a breakout second season, Franz Wagner looks like a stud with the 8th pick of the 2021 draft, and Wendell Carter Jr. has shown great improvement. Sure, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac have yet to play (and Isaac might be more interested in talk show politics than basketball). And yes, Jalen Suggs has had a rough rookie season. Chuma Okeke maybe hasn’t taken much of a step forward in his second season. Still, there are signs of promise in Orlando, and they’re a team that routinely does fight hard, especially on defense. The Clippers can’t just assume they will win – they know first-hand from the other side how dangerous that attitude is.
Notes
End the 3 Center Business: I think Ty Lue is a magnificent coach. He knows more about basketball than I do, or probably ever will. He also makes decisions that I disagree with, and one of them is the playing of three centers in the first half. We now have 50 games of evidence that Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein are significantly better players than Serge Ibaka at this point in their careers. Serge hasn’t even been bad, of late – he’s mostly been fine. But the other guys are better defensively, and impact the game more on offense through offensive rebounding (Zu) and finishing at the rim and passing (Hart). If the other guys get in bad foul trouble, Ibaka is certainly a fine option to play a handful of minutes. But keeping things unsettled and uncertain on a nightly basis by rotating him and Hartenstein in particular is not worth it, especially considering how big the gap between the two has been in totality. Serge is a respected and beloved vet, and the Clippers want to do right by him. But playing him is not helping the team.
Career High Coffey: Amir Coffey’s progress since I wrote about his breakout season just a few weeks ago has been remarkable. He scored a career high 29 points last night on a career high 21 field goal attempts, and is stepping up on a consistent basis in whatever facet the Clippers need of him. He’s not a star, but at this point he’s been starting-level good for a month, and every game that goes by makes his play less fluky. At the very least, he’s a competent rotation player on a contending team, which is a massive steal for an undrafted two-way player. What a season for Amir, who is on track to get a legitimate bag this summer.
That about does it for this preview of the Clippers’ road game against the Magic. Leave your comments below!
