The Clippers are coming off a tough loss to the Lakers, but the good news is they are back in the friendly confines of Intuit Dome, where they’ve been excellent most of the season.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 6:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Magic: Jalen Suggs – Anthony Black – Desmond Bane – Paolo Banchero – Wendell Carter Jr.
Clippers: Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Nic Batum – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Magic: Jalen Suggs Questionable (Back), Franz Wagner Out (Ankle)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Questionable (Ankle), John Collins Out (Head), Darius Garland Out (Toe), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
The Big Picture
The Clippers had a mixed bag in their first two games after the All Star Break. Their win over the Nuggets on Thursday was one of their best of the entire season, a rollicking victory that featured a monster performance from Bennedict Mathurin. The loss to the Lakers on Friday was extremely hard-fought and featured the Clippers at their scrappy best, but ultimately injuries to Kawhi Leonard and John Collins plus Mathurin fouling out meant they did not have the horsepower to secure the win. Still, if nothing else, the Clippers appear to have firmly rediscovered their tough identity that made them such a fun watch during the 2025 season. That grittiness will help them win a good chunk of games the rest of the season even if Garland continues to miss time.
The Antagonist
The Magic are one of the few teams that can claim a season as disappointing as the Clippers. Pegged by many (including myself) as a sleeper contender in the East, instead the Magic have lurked around a .500 record all season and have had near-constant rumors about firing head coach Jamahl Mosely. Some of the Magic’s struggles can be blamed on injury: their best player, Franz Wagner, has missed just over half the season, while Jalen Suggs, the heart and soul of the team, has missed an additional 20 games. Still, that doesn’t fully explain away the vibes or the defense that has declined significantly from the past couple seasons. Paolo Banchero is at the center of a lot of the Magic’s misery – while his struggles have probably been overstated a bit, he certainly has not made the leap to superstardom that the Magic were banking on. One piece of good news for the Magic is that third-year player Anthony Black has made a huge leap, moving from a decent bench guard to a very capable starting-level player with room for more. On any given night the Magic could look extremely dangerous or awful, so the Clippers have to be prepared.
Notes
Rotation Adjustments: The Clippers’ rotations have seemingly solidified after the All-Star break, though injuries to Kawhi Leonard and John Collins (neither seem serious) and the return of Darius Garland (hopefully not too long from now) could shake things up. The Clippers are starting Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Kawhi Leonard, and Brook Lopez, a very defense-first unit that is light on ballhandling and creation but full of competent veterans. Bennedict Mathurin is the clear 6th man and on any given night might close and/or play more minutes than most of the starters. After that, Jordan Miller and Nic Batum fill out the rest of the wing rotation, with Yanic Konan Niederhauser backing up Lopez. Notably, Kobe Sanders has not played the last two games after being a key part of the Clippers’ rotation for most of the middle part of the season (I’d expect him to play tonight with Collins Out). And, continuing the trend from before the All-Star break, Bogdan Bogdanovic is out of the rotation – though Ty Lue did indicate he would get a chance at some point. Overall, I think this is probably the right group of nine guys if the Clippers are trying to win games, though I wish Isaiah Jackson would get a look at center at some point.