The Clippers will try to get back on track against the banged-up Thunder after a brutal loss to the Suns, in what will be the Clippers’ second game of the NBA Cup.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: KTLA, Clippervision, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Jared McCain – Alex Caruso – Aday Mara – Isaiah Hartenstein
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Rui Hachimura – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Thunder: Ajay Mitchell Questionable (Ankle), Jalen Williams Out (Leg), Cason Wallace Out (Shoulder), Chet Holmgren Out (Knee), Jaylin Williams Out (Back), Thomas Sorber Out (Knee)
Clippers: Brandon Ingram Out (Heel), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Jordan Miller Out (Calf), Bradley Beal Out (Knee), Nick Martinelli Out (Two-way)
Prior Game Recap
The Clippers are coming off their worst loss of the season, a 133-110 drubbing at the hands of the Suns that was not even as close as the final score suggests. The loss was all the more dispiriting because it came after a good Clippers’ performance in a win over the Pelicans. The Clippers’ defense, in particular, was absolutely horrendous against the Suns, as they consistently bungled rotations and closed out poorly or not at all to three-point shooters. Unlike in some other tough losses early this season, there were almost no bright spots for the Clippers outside of Baba Miller, who continued to impress in limited minutes. It was a very difficult showing against a team that has not been good themselves this season in Phoenix, and was a new low point.
The Antagonist
The Thunder have lost two games in a row, but under much more acceptable circumstances than the Clippers, as they were playing on the road against a good team in the Blazers and are missing gigantic chunks of their rotation. In fact, the Thunder are having one of the most injury-cursed starts to a season that I can remember: they are down their 2nd and 3rd best player (Jalen Williams, Chet), another starter (Cason), and a key reserve (Jaylin Williams), with breakout third-year player Ajay Mitchell struggling with an ankle sprain. That’s not even counting youngsters like Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic being out with long-term injuries as well. The Thunder are still 8-4 because they have Shai and enough solid role players to pick up wins against bad teams, but they are not the Thunder of the past couple years and can definitely be beaten if their threes aren’t falling on any given night.
Notes
Turnovers, Improving: While the Clippers are still 29th in the league in turnover percentage, that’s actually a big improvement from the start of the season, when they were dead last by a mile. In fact, over the past 7 games, the Clippers are 22nd in turnover rate; still bad, but not egregiously so. The Clippers still have many, many issues to clean up, with their slipping defense (going in the opposite direction of the turnovers) being the biggest one, but it is nice to watch the Clips not turn the ball over seemingly every other possession.
BI & Yanic Approaching: I was fairly confident that Brandon Ingram would return for this game, but I was wrong. Still, both Ingram and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are continuing to play 5 on 5s with contact and without setbacks, so it can’t be that long before they are back in action. I am very curious to see how those guys’ returns will shake up the Clippers rotations – we know that Ingram will start, probably right away, but we don’t know if Yanic will immediately start or not, nor do we know which of the wings will lose out most heavily minutes-wise with Ingram’s return. Still, with the losses piling up, Ingram and Yanic’s return can’t come soon enough. If they’d been back for this one, I actually would give the Clippers a decent chance at winning. Without them, even with how depleted the Thunder are, it might be an uphill battle.
Bad Beal News: It’s not like many Clippers’ fans miss Bradley Beal, but it was sad to hear the update from Ty Lue yesterday that Beal can’t go three straight days of on court work without his knee flaring up. He’s been out of action for almost a year, mostly due to his hip fracture, but his knee cooperating is a bad sign for a player in his 30s with a lot of wear and tear already. It’s possible we see him again this season, but it sure doesn’t seem as if it will be any time soon.