Two straight losses means it’s a streak. Can the Clippers snap it in Minnesota against the last-place Timberwolves? The full Clippers vs Wolves game preview is ahead:

Game Information

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN

When: 5:00 PM PT

How to Watch: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570 LA Sports

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: Reggie Jackson — Luke Kennard — Kawhi Leonard — Nicolas Batum — Serge Ibaka

Wolves: Ricky Rubio — Malik Beasley — Anthony Edwards — Josh Okogie — Naz Reid

Injuries

Clippers: OUT — Paul George (foot); QUESTIONABLE — Patrick Beverley (knee)

Wolves: OUT — Jarrett Culver (ankle); DOUBTFUL — Karl Anthony-Towns (health and safety protocols); QUESTIONABLE — D’Angelo Russell (leg)

The Big Picture

. . . is cloudy.

Tyronn Lue announced yesterday that Paul George would miss at least this two-game road trip. That means more minutes for Kawhi Leonard, already averaging a career high, and more wear on those precious legs. The race to the top of the Western Conference continues to be a hot one, and the standings don’t care about who suited up and who didn’t. But there’s little sense climbing the latter if you’re too tired to complete your work once you get there. Decisions, decisions . . .

On the brighter side, Patrick Beverley has been upgraded to questionable and is traveling with the team, increasing optimism that he will play either tonight or Friday in Chicago. Right now, the less Reggie Jackson, the better.

On the brightest side is the opponent tonight, perhaps your first choice of opponent when you’re a team looking to bounce back. Read on . . .

The Antagonist

. . . is a mess. Again.

Few expected this team to be good, but dreams of better days were built upon the anticipation of full seasons from Karl Anthony-Towns and D’Angelo Russell, the addition of first-overall pick Anthony Edwards, and the re-addition of the beloved Ricky Rubio.

The best laid plans of mice and Minnesotans something something. Towns, the franchise’s literal and metaphorical center, has suffered through a year for which the word unfortunate is woefully underpowered. Russell continues to be worse than the idea of Russell. Edwards is talented but inconsistent, which means he is who we thought he was. Rubio needs to be saved.

Even the silver linings come bearing their own dark cloud. Malik Beasley has confirmed that his 20 point-per-game production is for real and his $60 million contract deserved, but he now faces a 120-day jail sentence to be served after the regular season.

With 2019 sixth-overall pick Jarrett Culver still on the mend, this team looks every inch of its 15-seed. The Wolves are young, athletic, and lacking virtually everything else. Add it all up and the Wolves may be just the trampoline the Clippers need.

Game Thread

That’s about it for this preview of the Clippers’ game against the Wolves. The comments for this post will be the live thread. Sign up for a free account and join the conversation!

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Thomas Wood

Thomas Wood

Writing about the Clippers since 2014 and also since 2019.

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