The Clippers will try to move on from a disappointing loss to the Warriors against the struggling Pelicans.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, KEIB 1150

Projected Starting Lineups

Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears – Trey Murphy III – Herb Jones – Zion Williamson – DeAndre Jordan

Clippers: James Harden – Bradley Beal – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Pelicans: Zion Williamson Questionable (Foot), Dejounte Murray Out (Achilles), Kevon Looney Out (Knee)

Clippers: Bradley Beal Questionable (Back), Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring), Kobe Sanders Out (Knee)

The Big Picture

The Clippers are 2-2, which isn’t too bad, but the fanbase is pretty unhappy with the team’s play through four games. Honestly, fans have a point. The Clippers completely laid an egg in their first game against the Jazz, beat up on a terrible Suns team in game two, scrapped out a win against a decent Blazers team, and then completely fell apart against the Warriors. It has not been an inspiring stretch to start the year to say the least. The good news is that so many different players have been disappointing that the Clippers have to improve at some point.

The Antagonist

The Pelicans have been really bad to start the year, going 0-4 and losing a couple of their recent games by significant margin. That they’ve been so bad even with a healthy-ish (for the Pelicans) roster including an in-shape Zion Williamson is a bad sign for the Pels’ season. They are a team that has a lot of real talent, and is young and athletic, but just does not fit together very well. Because their front office traded their first round pick this year for Derik Queen, the Pelicans have no reason to tank – they are going to string together some wins at some point. But right now, they are a miserable watch.

Notes

The Starting SG Spot: A lot of discussion on Clippers’ social media channels in the past week has centered on who the Clippers should start at guard next to James Harden. Bradley Beal was given the spot before training camp, and Bogdan Bogdanovic has stepped into replace him in the two games Beal has missed. Neither Beal nor Bogi has been effective, with little impact on offense and negative impact on the other end. In each game, the Clippers have noticeably improved when Kris Dunn has come in for either of the more offensively-tilted players. I do think Beal has a longer least on the starting role, but if the Clippers continue to struggle and Dunn remains more impactful, it’s possible he could regain his starting role that he held last year. I think we are a ways away from that, however.

CP3 and Brook Slow Starts: The Clippers have higher profile players who have struggled, but their bench additions of Chris Paul and Brook Lopez have both been ineffective in the regular season after very strong preseason performances. They are old and slow, but their combined shooting and IQ should make them impactful to some extent in a way they have not been so far. The CP3-Brook pick and pops and defensive smarts being effective would go a long way towards the Clippers looking better than they have so far this season.

Clippers vs Pelicans Preview: Spooky Season
Robert Flom

The Clippers will look to extend their first winning streak of the season to three games against their division rivals, the Golden State Warriors.

Game Information

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA

When: 8:00 PM PT

How to Watch: NBC, Peacock, KEIB 1150

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Bogdan Bogdanovic – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Warriors: Steph Curry – Brandin Podziemski – Jimmy Butler – Jonathan Kuminga – Draymond Green

Injuries

Clippers: Bradley Beal Out (Back), Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring), Kobe Sanders Out (Knee)

Warriors: Al Horford Probable (Toe), De’Anthony Melton Out (Knee), Alex Toohey Out (Knee)

The Warriors are playing quite well right now, making this game the biggest test for the Clippers of the young season.

Clippers vs Warriors Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers will look to continue building on their blowout win over the Suns on Friday night against the scrappy Blazers.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 6:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Blazers: Jrue Holiday – Shaedon Sharpe – Toumani Camara – Deni Avdija – Donovan Clingan

Clippers: James Harden – Bradley Beal – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Blazers: Scoot Henderson Out (Hamstring), Robert Williams III Out (Knee), Damian Lillard Out (Achilles)

Clippers: Bradley Beal Questionable (Back), Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring)

Clippers vs Blazers Game Thread
Robert Flom

Hello all. I am getting married on Sunday and thus will not be focused on Clippers basketball this weekend. Here’s a quick game thread for tonight’s game, and I will probably have something similar up for Sunday’s game. Hopefully the Clippers don’t have two more embarrassments.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, KEIB 1170

Projected Starting Lineups

Suns: Devin Booker – Grayson Allen – Dillon Brooks – Ryan Dunn – Oso Ighodaro

Clippers: James Harden – Bradley Beal – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Suns: Jalen Green Out (Hamstring)

Clippers: Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring)

I’m not sure how the Clippers could possibly be worse than they were in the season opener against the Jazz. Win or lose, hopefully this is a much better effort than that disaster.

Clippers vs Suns Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers kick off their 2026 season with a road game against the youthful and likely bad Utah Jazz.

Game Information

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

When: 6:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Bradley Beal – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Jazz: Keyonte George – Brice Sensabaugh – Ace Bailey – Lauri Markkanen – Walker Kessler

Injuries

Clippers: Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring)

Jazz: Ace Bailey Questionable (Illness), Georges Niang Out (Foot), Isaiah Collier Out (Hamstring)

The Big Picture

The Clippers’ long, drama-filled offseason is finally over. The revamped Clippers roster, boasting new additions such as Bradley Beal, Brook Lopez, John Collins, and Chris Paul, will attempt to do what the franchise has not done in five years, which is get beyond the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers certainly have their most well-rounded roster since those early 213 era teams, as they no longer have gaping holes at backup center or backup point guard. The Clippers are old, but they are deep, coming into the season healthy, and seem to have positive vibes. Let’s see what they can do.

The Antagonist

The Jazz also turned over a lot of their roster, sending out veteran mainstays such as Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and John Collins while adding a motley assortment of aged vets (Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, Jusuf Nurkic) and young guys (Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr.). The Jazz are under no allusions about how good they will be this year: even though they have promising young talent on the roster, headlines by Bailey, they do not have a foundational superstar yet, and they need to get that player through a high pick in this upcoming draft. Lauri Markkanen is a fringe All Star caliber player, Walker Kessler is a solid starting center, and the team does have an excellent young coach in Will Hardy, but the Jazz seem like a lock to be the worst team in the Western Conference this year.

Notes

Get the Win: First game of the season, first time I’ll repeat my oft-spoken phrase. If the Clippers are serious about getting a top seed and making a deep playoff run, these are the kinds of games they need to win. Yes, they’re on the road at altitude against a younger team. Yes, the Jazz have real talent. But the Clippers are better at every single position and have a much stronger bench. It would be great if the Clippers came out and sent a message with their play in this one.

Who Starts: It seems fairly clear that the Clippers’ fifth starter will be Derrick Jones Jr., but we do not have that 100% confirmed yet. On the Jazz side of things, the only two guys that I have locked in are Markkanen and Kessler. My guess is they want to give Ace the starting nod, as he had a strong preseason and is the highest draft pick on the roster. Keyonte George is the most seasoned ballhandler on the team (in his third season!), and with Collier out I’d guess he moves in at PG. The final spot could be Brice Sensabaugh or Taylor Hendricks, but I took a stab at Sensabaugh due to his increased experience and shooting acumen.

Who is the Clippers’ 11^th Man: We know that eight Clippers are locked into roles – Harden, Beal, Kawhi, DJJ/Collins, Zu, Brook, and CP3 – but we don’t know who the last two players are in their rotation. Ty Lue has already said he’s not playing an 11-man rotation, which means one of Bogi, Kris Dunn, or Nic Batum is out of the rotation to start the year. Based on how Ty has talked about point of attack defense, you have to think that Dunn will play at least some minutes. Ultimately, I think Nico gets the nod over Bogi as the 10^th man, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was the other way around. I just think Nico has so much trust from everyone on the roster and coaching staff, and it would be tough to not play him when healthy. Then again, he’s such a good fit they could mothball him. We will see in this one!

Do the Clippers Stagger: In the preseason, Ty Lue largely did hockey substitutions in the first quarter, bringing in all five of his bench players at once for the starters. The starters would then trickle back in a bit more gradually in the second quarter, but without a true stagger. I’m curious if that trend will carry into the regular season – I’d guess not. There are three potential stagger candidates with the second unit: Harden, Beal, and Kawhi. Beal seems like the most logical pairing, but this is his first game with the team so I don’t know if Ty will foist that responsibility on him yet. It remains to be seen, but it seems silly to not do at least some staggering for offensive firepower purposes.

Clippers Game Preview: Season Opener Against Jazz
Robert Flom

The Clippers will wrap up their 2026 preseason with an away contest against another division rival, the Golden State Warriors.

Game Information

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: NBA League Pass

Notes

The Clippers’ dress rehearsal game ended up being on Wednesday against the Kings, and Ty Lue has already ruled out Kawhi and James Harden from this game. It is quite possible other key veteran Clippers don’t play either, though some of the new arrivals (Brook, Collins, CP3) logging minutes makes sense.

One of the only reasons to tune into this one is because there is at least a chance Bradley Beal makes his Clippers’ debut tonight. Honestly, I’d be a bit surprised if he appeared in preseason, but he has not been ruled out, and the Clippers might want to give him a few meaningless minutes with some teammates before being thrust into games that actually matter. If he does play, it will be interesting to see how he looks.

The only other semi-interesting plot thread here is if any of the younger players stand out enough to get the final two-way spot vacated by Trentyn Flowers. The smart money right now is on Jason Preston to get that last two-way slot, but if any of the other training camp guys has a terrific outing maybe it sways the Clippers in another direction.

That’s about it! After this, the games will actually matter, and I can’t wait for that!

Clippers 2026 Preseason Game 4: Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers’ 2026 preseason continues with a road contest against the Pacific Division rival Sacramento Kings.

Game Information

Where: Golden One Center, Sacramento, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: NBA League Pass

Notes

The Clippers’ starting lineup is not known for this contest, as Bradley Beal and Bogdan Bogdanovic are out for the game and Ty Lue has said John Collins is not starting. Considering Harden, DJJ, Kawhi, and Zu are locked in as the other guys, some likely options are Kris Dunn, Nic Batum, or possibly Jordan Miller. I’d lean Dunn, but we will see.

The Clippers went really hard in their game against the Nuggets on Sunday, so I’m curious to see if they play just as intensely in this game. I can’t imagine this game is a full dress rehearsal, but maybe Ty does want to see all of his key players log true regular season style rotations beyond just the first half. If I had to guess, we won’t see Kawhi and possibly Harden after halftime, and the second half is another extended look at the young guys.

One item of note is that Trentyn Flowers was waived yesterday, which opens up a two-way spot. The Clippers don’t have to fill that spot right away, and could sign anyone who’s eligible to it, but it seems likely that the third two-way will be filled by one of the other guys at training camp. Maybe if one of the young guys really stands out tomorrow they are able to earn that final roster spot.

Clippers 2026 Preseason Game 3: Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers’ 2026 preseason play continues with a game against the team that eliminated the Clippers from the 2025 postseason, the Denver Nuggets.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 6:30 PM PT

How to Watch: ESPN, KTLA, FanDuel Sports So Cal

Notes

The Clippers have not released an injury report for today’s game, so it’s unclear whether Bradley Beal (out in the first preseason game) or Bogdan Bogdanovic (started that game but left after two minutes due to a back injury and did not return) will play in this one. If either of them play, they will be the likely starter at shooting guard.

Ty Lue did mention after the first preseason game that John Collins would start tonight, presumably in place of Derrick Jones Jr. If both Beal and Bogi are out, it’s possible that DJJ and Collins would start together, but it also seems possible that Ty would just start Jordan Miller instead.

Key players on the Clippers mostly logged between 12 and 18 minutes in the first preseason game, and while I’d expect those numbers to go up a bit, nothing about this game indicates “full dress rehearsal”. The Clippers will of course be going up against an actual NBA team in this one, but there’s still no reason to treat this very seriously. I do hope there’s more defensive intensity from the jump compared to their game against the Loong-Lions.

Clippers 2026 Preseason Game 2: Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers kick off their 2026 season with a preseason game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Game Information

Where: Frontwave Arena, San Diego, CA

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Unclear, seems to be on League Pass

I have very, very little to say about any preseason game, especially on a Clippers team that knows who their rotation players are and have roles more or less mapped out.

Bradley Beal will miss this game as he recovers from a knee injury, but he’s practicing with the team and it seems like he will appear at some point in preseason. Everyone else is a go, even Kawhi Leonard, so the Clippers should be able to give just about everyone on their roster a couple minutes of action in this one.

Outside of coming out the other side healthy, the only thing I’d like to see in this game is some progress from the Clippers young guys: Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, Cam Christie, Kobe Sanders, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and Trentyn Flowers. Hopefully one or two of them look good, and if not them, then maybe an Exhibit 10 guy pops a bit.

That’s about all! I can’t wait for the games that really matter, which are about two weeks away!

Clippers 2026 Preseason Game 1: Game Thread
Robert Flom

The Clippers close out their 2025 Summer League with a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The game is scheduled at 5 PM ET, and there are only a few games today, so that timing should be roughly accurate. The game is only being televised on ESPNU, so it might be tough to access for people that don’t have League Pass or Clippervision.

These late Summer League games are somehow even more useless than the rest of Summer League, as so many guys have already been sent home (including nearly all top first and second-year players) and competitive drive is at a low. Thus, I wouldn’t take nearly anything away from this game.

All that being said, this is the last Clippers’ basketball we will see for close to two and a half months, so we may as well enjoy. Let’s hope the Clippers send out all of their actual roster players and they show out in their last opportunity in Vegas.

Clippers 2025 Summer League Game 5 Thread
Robert Flom