The Clippers take on the Magic in the second game of their four-game East Coast road trip, and the first game of a Florida back-to-back.
Game Information
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
When: 4:00 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Nicolas Batum – Ivica Zubac
Magic: Markelle Fultz – Franz Wagner – Paolo Banchero – Mo Wagner – Bol Bol
Injuries
Clippers: Norm Powell Out (Groin), John Wall Out (Knee Management), Luke Kennard Out (Calf), Marcus Morris Out (Illness), Moussa Diabate Out (G-League), Jason Preston Out (G-League)
Magic: Wendell Carter Jr. Out (Foot), Jonathan Isaac Out (G-League), Jalen Suggs Out (Ankle), Gary Harris Out (Hamstring), Chuma Okeke Out (Knee)
The Big Picture
The Clippers continue to scrape together wins, with their latest victory coming on the road Monday against the Hornets with a Kawhi Leonard gamewinner. They had most of their team available in that game – something that they won’t have for this one. Each contest where the Clippers don’t have their full rotation is one that means that much less for reps and chemistry, but still, Kawhi and PG looked healthy in their returns, and that’s the most important thing. When Kawhi and Paul George play, the Clippers have been awesome, and that fact is not likely to change any time soon, especially against this Magic team.
The Antagonist
The Magic are 5-20, the worst record in the NBA, and have lost their last nine games. They have the 27th ranked offense in the NBA as well as the 27th ranked defense – there’s not much they’re good at. That’s at least partially due to injuries, as starting center Wendell Carter Jr. and key guard Jalen Suggs are out with injuries, as are other rotation players. Still, the future is bright for Orlando. Paolo Banchero is averaging 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists as a rookie, and getting to the line 8.4 times per game – an incredible number for a rookie. Franz Wagner has improved on his All-Rookie First Team campaign with a stellar sophomore effort, raising his scoring from 15.3 to 19.2 points per game while boosting his efficiency. Between those two and Carter, the Magic have a very talented and well-fitting frontcourt. The next step is getting a backcourt, which could mean Suggs or Markelle Fultz, who has only played four games this season, or a lottery pick in this year’s draft. Regardless, the Magic are quite bad now, but might only be a year or two away from doing real damage.
Notes
Get the Win: It doesn’t really matter how ugly the game is, a win is a win, especially on the road. The Clippers only play the Magic twice, and they absolutely have to win both encounters – every game against a tanking team is a precious commodity in the highly competitive 2023 NBA, and the standings are still extremely tight. Every loss against tanking teams will hurt that much more at the end of the season.
Who Will Start for Morris: I penciled Nic Batum into the starting lineup above, but it remains to be seen who starts for Marcus Morris, who has been a constant for the Clips to start the year. It could be Batum, who has been playing great lately and is the logical “next man up”. It could be Robert Covington, who got a DNP-CD on Monday and has overall not played much, but whose starting would allow Nic to stay in his usual bench role. Or it could even be a smaller wing like Terance Mann or Amir Coffey, pushing Kawhi to the power forward spot. I’d bet on Nico or RoCo, but Terance as been awesome of late as well, so starting him is a possibility too.
Staggering Rest: I do like that it seems as if the Clippers are “staggering” who gets rest or load managed for this back-to-back stretch. George and Kawhi are playing in this one, and I don’t think Kawhi will play against the Heat on Thursday, while George might sit that one out too. However, Wall and Luke are getting this game to rest, and presumably will be back on Thursday (Morris might as well – we don’t know how “real” is sickness is). By not resting all of their players in the same game, the Clippers are giving themselves decent chances to win each game while still providing their players with rest and giving multiple chances to guys like Coffey and Covington to win back some minutes.
