The Clippers take on the Pacers in a battle between two of the best teams in the NBA. Check out the full game preview of the Clippers showdown against the Pacers below.
Game Information
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon – – Aaron Holiday – Edmond Sumner – Justin Holiday – Domantas Sabonis
Clippers: Patrick Beverley – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Nicolas Batum – Serge Ibaka
Updated Injuries
Pacers: Caris LeVert Out (Kidney), Myles Turner Out (Hand)Jeremy Lamb Out (ACL), TJ Warren Out (Foot), Jalen Lecque Questionable (Ankle), Goga Bitadze Questionable (Ankle)
Clippers: Lou Williams Questionable (Hip)
The Big Picture
After a rough two week stretch following the Clippers’ historic loss to the Mavs in late December, the good guys have righted the ship the past week. They fended off a red-hot Bulls team, edged out a talented Pelicans squad, and then crushed the young Kings despite being short-handed. Their defense looked very good for much of the Kings and Pelicans’ games, and their offense has been phenomenal throughout. While much of the roster have not met expectations from an individual production standpoint, the team as a whole is playing well, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers’ two superstars have been dominant to start the year, both individually and as a duo. The Clips have been fun and exciting, shaking off the malaise that plagued them at times last season.
The Antagonist
Despite dealing with several injuries to major players, the Pacers sit in 3rd place in the rejuvenated Eastern Conference. While Indiana has good depth, the Pacers have mostly been winning games behind their three best players. Malcolm Brogdon is absolutely on fire from deep while maintaining a stellar assist to turnover ratio, Domantas Sabonis is punishing all comers around the basket, and Myles Turner is blocking all shots in sight. Those are the guys who the Clippers will have to watch out for in this one, but the Pacers have a solid supporting cast with a nice mix of veterans and youngsters. Nate Bjorkgren has modernized the offense in his first year taking over from Nate McMillan, and looks to be a promising head coach. In short, the Pacers are a dangerous team that is always competent and frequently ferocious. If the Clippers take them lightly, they will lose.
Notes
Guarding Indiana’s Big Lineup: Indiana is one of the few teams in the NBA that still starts two true big men in Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. The Clippers are not, with their starter at power forward this season being the former wing Nicolas Batum. It will be interesting to see how the Clippers defend the larger Pacers. Sabonis is by far the bigger offensive threat, so it’s possible that Kawhi Leonard gets matched up with him, especially as the Pacers lack wing threats. However, I would be intrigued by Ibaka taking Sabonis, while a smaller player matches up on Turner. While Turner has some offensive skills, the Clippers will live with him posting up or shooting over a smaller defender. The same can’t be said of Sabonis. Additionally, putting Batum on Turner could result in mixing up the Pacers’ matchups on the other end in transition, always an advantage. Doc Rivers might have started a bigger player such as Patrick Patterson to match up better, but I doubt Ty Lue does the same. Update: This no longer matters with the news that Turner is out.
PG On Fire: Paul George’s shooting will regress eventually, right? Paul George is an awesome shooter, but right now he’s on pace for maybe the best high-volume three-point shooting campaign of all time. The 50/40/90 club is the gold standard for excellent shooting efficiency – PG is at a 50/52/92 right now while taking 8.3 threes per game and 5.1 free throws. Every time he shoots a three, it looks good. He’s still not shooting quite as many threes as I’d like (at his size and with his form he should be taking 10 threes every game), but it’s hard to complain with how he’s played. Really, the only nitpick, as usual, are the turnovers, but at this point, it just seems like that’s a part of PG’s game. Regardless, he’s been an All-NBA, All-Defense level player to start the season, and the revenge campaign is just beginning.
Pacers Shorthanded: The Pacers will not be close to 100% for this one. Bubble breakout star TJ Warren, the Pacers’ only true forward, is out with a foot injury. The Pacers just swapped Victor Oladipo for Caris LeVert, but in the physical it was discovered that Caris has a mass on his kidney, and will be out indefinitely (prayers up for Caris). Crucial bench wing Jeremy Lamb has missed the entire season thus far after recovering from an ACL surgery, and is questionable for this one. Even if he plays, he will presumably be extremely rusty. The Pacers do have a deep bench, and guys like Edmond Sumner and TJ McConnell can absolutely play, but there’s no doubt the Pacers will lack their full firepower. Hopefully the Clippers seize on this advantage and don’t succumb to it.
Blog Buddies: Check out Indy Cornrows, the Pacers’ SB Nation (I know, I know) site, for some great insight into the bad guys. I did a podcast with my buddy Mark Schindler yesterday discussing the Clippers and Pacers thus far this season, and Caitlin Cooper does some of the best video breakdowns in the NBA blogosphere. The rest of the staff does great work too, of course!
Well, that’s about it for this game preview of the Clippers against the Pacers. Leave your thoughts on the game below, as well as comments on a lengthy slate of NBA (and NFL playoff) games today.
