The LA Clippers continue their road swing with a trip up north against the Toronto Raptors.
Game Information
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
When: 4:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris – Ivica Zubac
Raptors: Fred VanVleet – Scottie Barnes – OG Anunoby – Pascal Siakam – Juancho Hernangomez
Injury Report
Clippers: Brandon Boston Jr. (G League Assignment), Jason Preston (G League Assignment), Moussa Diabate (G League Assignment)
Raptors: Precious Achiuwa (ankle) doubtful, Otto Porter Jr. (toe) out.
The Big Picture
It hasn’t been a great start to the road trip for the Clippers. They got absolutely humiliated in Philadelphia after choking away a 20 point lead, and they were minutes away from one of the worst losses of the season against one of the absolute worst teams in the NBA in the Detroit Pistons. Sure the Clippers managed to pull off the win against the Pistons, but that was not a good look at all for a team that was supposed to be turning the corner.
Something clearly has to be done regarding the Clippers overuse of small, multi-guard lineups. Those lineups haven’t been very positive and they continually put the Clippers at a disadvantage defensively. Size on the wings is the name of the game in today’s NBA, and it’s not like the Clippers don’t have the personnel to play that way. Terance Mann, who is probably the most well-rounded player on the team outside of the Clippers stars, needs to be playing more. He just brings an all-around game on both ends of the court that is needed. It may be time to bring Robert Covington back into the rotation. His size and presence defensively would help as well.
The Clippers should be getting a boost though against the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard expected back in the lineup. He sat out Monday’s game against Detroit with the Clippers maintaining his injury management. Over the past few games, he’s been looking much more like the multiple-time All-Star he is and seems to be finally getting some of his rhythm back. It’s unclear though whether or not John Wall plays against the Raptors.
The Antagonist
The Raptors present a much different challenge than the Pistons. This is a team that is better than their record would suggest. They play hard and they always seem to give themselves a chance to win. It would have been ideal if the Clippers could have put the Pistons away early and given the starters some rest heading into Monday’s game. But the Clippers never seem to make things easier for themselves and so they’ll head over the border to face a rested Raptors team that hasn’t played since Dec. 23.
Toronto is led by All-Star Pascal Siakam, who is coming off being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week during a stretch that saw him drop a career-high 52 points. He’s playing some great basketball right now, but the Clippers have two players in Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington, should he actually play, that could perhaps make things tough for Siakam defensively.
The Raptors also have a quiet star in OG Anunoby who is healthy and playing the best basketball of his career. Anunoby is an absolute pest on the defensive end, and expect the Raptors to use him to frustrate Kawhi Leonard and maybe even Paul George.
This is a team that, due to their not so great record, has seen multiple players names start coming up in trade rumors. There are quite a few players on the Raptors roster that would most certainly help contending teams, but there’s no indication that the Raptors are even considering blowing the team up.
