In a month that has seen numerous magical upsets involving basketball teams from California, the L.A. Clippers (32-16) look to keep their six-game winning streak intact and handle business at home against the reshuffling Orlando Magic (15-31) on Tuesday. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Magic game preview.
Clippers vs. Magic Game Information
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When: 7 p.m. PT
How to Watch: FOX Sports Prime Ticket
Projected Starting Lineups:
L.A. Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Luke Kennard – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Orlando Magic: Michael Carter-Williams – Dwayne Bacon – James Ennis III – Chuma Okeke – Khem Birch
Injury Report:
L.A. Clippers: Patrick Beverley – OUT (Right Knee Soreness), Serge Ibaka – OUT (Lower Back Tightness), Rajon Rondo – OUT (Right Adductor Soreness), Paul George – QUESTIONABLE (Right Foot Soreness)
Orlando Magic: Cole Anthony – OUT (Non-displaced Fracture, Right Rib), Markelle Fultz – OUT (Torn ACL, Left Knee), Gary Harris – OUT (Left Adductor Strain), Jonathan Isaac – OUT (Left Knee Rehabilitation), Terrence Ross – QUESTIONABLE (Sore Right Knee)
The Big Picture
Make no doubt about it, the Clippers are surging once again. As the short-handed winners of six straight—including double-digit victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks—L.A. is back on the heels of the Phoenix Suns for the second seed in the west.
Heading into the third game of their nine-game homestand, the waters appear to signal smooth sailing for L.A. come Tuesday evening. Although playing on zero days of rest typically signals a tough hurdle to overcome, the Clippers are 8-0 this season in the second game of back-to-backs. If Ty Lue’s squad can find its offensive rhythm early on, the box score should reflect heavily against Orlando for most of the night.
The Antagonist
The last time the Clippers faced the Magic back in January, they routed them by 26 despite Nikola Vučević, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier donning black and blue in the Amway Center. With Otto Porter Jr. now being the player with the highest annual salary on the Magic, Orlando will have the odds stacked even further against them this time around.
As usual in the NBA, however, this matchup remains far from a night off for the Clippers. Despite being tasked with incorporating both the newcomers and Orlando’s existing players into elevated roles and a revised gameplan on short notice, Steve Clifford has already had the Magic put up too-close-for-comfort upset bids that fell just short against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clippers vs. Magic Game Notes
- Availability questions: With the skidding Magic having four players firmly on the mend, as well as the day-to-day Terrence Ross missing his last seven games, it’s likely that the Clippers rest up some of their key wings. On the flip side, it’s possible that the debut of Rajon Rondo could materialize against Orlando with L.A.’s margin for error being larger than on most nights.
- Figuring out the playoff rotation: Is the confident and decisive Terance Mann that has turned heads in recent weeks part of the new normal? Whose minutes get cut as the team gets healthy? Will Zubac stick with the starting unit moving forward? With Lue mentioning that L.A.’s minutes distribution is something that he’s going to need to figure out, a game like this could be a great opportunity to get closer to doing just that.
Feel free to stick around and chat down below as this article’s comment section will serve as our live game thread tonight against the Orlando Magic. Sign up for a free account and join the conversation!
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