After a dominant victory against the struggling Houston Rockets, the L.A. Clippers (36-18) look to close their nine-game homestand strong with a win against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons (16-36). Check out the full preview of the Clippers’ Sunday night contest against the Pistons below.
Clippers vs. Pistons Game Information
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
When: 7 P.M. PDT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570 L.A. Sports
Projected Starting Lineups
L.A. Clippers: Reggie Jackson — Paul George — Luke Kennard — Marcus Morris Sr. — Ivica Zubac
Detroit Pistons: Dennis Smith Jr. — Cory Joseph — Josh Jackson — Saddiq Bey — Isaiah Stewart
Injury Report
L.A. Clippers: Patrick Beverly — Out (Left Hand Fracture), Serge Ibaka — Out (Lower Back), Kawhi Leonard — Out (rest), Rajon Rondo — Questionable (Right Adductor Soreness)
Detroit Pistons: Mason Plumlee — Questionable (Day to Day), Jerami Grant — Questionable (Day to Day), Wayne Ellington — Questionable (Day to Day), Rodney McGruder — Out (Elbow)
The Big Picture
It is hard to say how standings will shake out in the extremely competitive Western Conference, so for the Clippers, they will just be hoping to do what they have done the past four games—win. One would think that this is the goal of every team in the league, but while the Clippers are making a run for a top seed, the Pistons are in the fray for more lottery balls in what is projected to be a very deep and talented draft class.
The Clippers have been all over the place on a quarter to quarter basis, including Friday’s game against the Rockets, where they found themselves down by 10 points in the first quarter, only to follow it up with a 41-10 beatdown of a second quarter. Regardless, this should be a gimme with how abysmal the Pistons team is this season… which to Clipper fans means “this is a game that may very well end up being more difficult than it should be.”
The Antagonist
As the Pistons try to maneuver their way to better lottery chances (or in other words, lose as many games as possible), they have found themselves 4-3 in their past 7 games. With their fans concerned about winning too many games, they are likely breathing a sigh of relief as their squad will be playing the Clippers on the second night of a back to back, followed by an immediate rematch Wednesday night.
One thing to point out is that this preview’s Injury Report is big enough to field an entire lineup of starters! The Clippers are missing Beverly, Ibaka, and their best player, Kawhi Leonard, while the Pistons are likely also going to be missing three starters, one of whom is also their best player in Jerami Grant. Even when healthy, the Pistons have been a pretty abysmal team, so with these injuries the biggest takeaway is that a completely random player that nobody has ever heard of will likely be having a career night, as is tradition against the Clippers.
In all seriousness, the Pistons have a bit of a ragtag team of various prospects, ranging from disappointing lottery players to potentially promising rookies. While Dennis Smith Jr. and Josh Jackson may be as good as they are going to get (which isn’t great), Saddiq Bey is carving out a place in the league as a high volume 3 point specialist averaging 38% on nearly 6 attempts a game. Killian Hayes, the 7th pick in the most recent draft, is back after a tough injury, but he is someone to watch as he gets more acclimated to the NBA. Overall, the Pistons don’t look like the most threatening team on paper, but they have some interesting prospects to keep an eye on, especially considering they appear to be the farm team for the Los Angeles basketball teams (which is discussed a bit later).
Clippers vs. Opponent Game Notes
- The Los Angeles Pistons: A fun connection the Pistons have is that quite a few ex-Pistons have found their way to both Los Angeles teams. The Clippers red-hot goggled guard, Reggie Jackson, was bought out by the Pistons prior to joining the team last year, and sharp shooter Luke Kennard was the team’s first roster acquisition this past summer. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Markief Morris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Andre Drummond are all former Pistons as well. The two LA teams can effectively create one of the Piston’s previous lineups with their combination of players!
- Recharging Cyborg: After some very impressive outings, Kawhi Leonard will be taking the night off for some rest similar to Paul George against the Rockets. While this will certainly raise some headlines about load management—the media’s favorite Clipper narrative that seemingly disappears when non Clipper players rest—there is not much to be worried about here as Kawhi has looked great all season long.
That’s about it for this preview of the Clippers’ game against the Pistons. Comment on the game below!
