The Clippers will close their rollercoaster 2026 season against the rival Golden State Warriors in a contest that is probably meaningless but that they need to try to win just in case the Blazers drop their game at the same time.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 5:30 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, KTLA, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Warriors: Steph Curry – Brandin Podziemski – Gui Santos – Draymond Green – Kristaps Porzingis
Clippers: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Warriors: Steph Curry Probable (Ankle), Seth Curry Questionable (Adductor), Quinten Post Doubtful (Foot), Jimmy Butler Out (Knee), Moses Moody Out (Knee)
Clippers: Isaiah Jackson Out (Ankle), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
The Big Picture
The Clippers, perhaps fittingly, were thoroughly outplayed by the Blazers on Friday night in the most important game of the season for either team. The Blazers were quicker, bigger, more energetic, and more forceful despite being a younger and more inexperienced team than the veteran-laden Clippers. The Clippers’ center issues were also apparent; they got a monster game from Brook Lopez, but were blitzed in the bench minutes with John Collins and Nic Batum at center. The Clippers didn’t really have much of a chance of any kind of postseason run even with Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Isaiah Jackson healthy, but without them, the only center on the roster being the limited Lopez makes it tough for this team to get anything going inside. Ultimately, this season can be broken down into three segments: the horrendous 6-21 start, the incredible 20-7 turnaround midseason, and the mediocre 15-12 close. And now, at the end, they are who they are – a middling .500 team.
The Antagonist
The Warriors have had a season every bit as disastrous as the Clippers. The Warriors were also expected to be a highly competitive playoff team after making the second round last year and reloading much of their same roster, but the season-ending injury to Jimmy Butler and an extended second-half absence from Steph Curry doomed them to a below-.500 season and a 10th seed. Like the Clippers, the Warriors have some nice young players (Podziemski, Santos, Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Will Richard) but no obvious blue-chip prospects, and are heavily invested in an aging and injury-prone core. The big difference is the Warriors have all of their own picks, and it certainly seems like they will go after big fish this offseason. But, for right now, they are just a meh 10th seed that has no hopes of a playoff run even if they do make it through the play-in tournament.
Notes
Winning Record Streak on the Line: The Clippers have had a winning record for 14 seasons in a row, by far the longest ongoing streak in the NBA. Their last season below .500 was all the way back in 2010-2011, Blake Griffin’s rookie season, when they went 32-50. The Clippers have had two seasons since where they’ve barely sneaked out winning records at 42-40 (in 2017-18 and 2021-22), and it would be a point of pride for them to get to that mark this year with a win. Even if nothing else is on the line, that franchise record is a really cool mark that I want the team to keep going.
Go Kings Go: The only way this game matters in the actual standings is if the Kings beat the Blazers, as in that case the Clippers would tie the Blazers at 42-40 and move to 8th through tiebreakers. The Blazers will be playing at home and the Kings have nothing to play for, but they’ve been surprisingly frisky in recent weeks, so the chances of them winning aren’t quite zero. The Clippers have to hope the Kings are feisty again tomorrow and don’t lean as far into the tank as some other teams have done recently (the Grizzlies played 5.5 players in their loss on Friday).
