According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the LA Clippers are engaged in three-team trade talks that would bring Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles in exchange for Marcus Morris and draft compensation. The Clippers’ package would be rerouted to the Wizards, with Kristaps Porzingis headed to Boston. It’s unclear if veteran guard Chris Paul, who is heading to Washington as part of the agreed-upon Bradley Beal trade and rumored to be rerouted to the Clippers, would be a part of this or not.

Malcom Brogdon is a strong fit for the Clippers, a versatile 6’5″ defensive guard who can contribute offensively in on- and off-ball roles. He averaged 20 points and 6 assists in a lead guard role for the Indiana Pacers across the 2021 and 2022 NBA seasons before playing a lower-usage 6th man role on the championship-contending Boston Celtics last year, where his efficiency skyrocketed. While this move isn’t finalized and the Clippers likely have more to come, Brogdon is almost assuredly going to start next season, and he will likely try to take the reins as the number 3 guy alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Brogdon’s main drawback, in true Clipper fashion, has been his availability; he’s averaged 24.5 games missed over the last 6 seasons. At 30 years old, it seems unlikely that he’ll suddenly develop durability as a Clipper.

While giving up on Marcus Morris is no loss to the Clippers–the veteran power forward played his way out of the rotation late last season, has been rumored to be dissatisfied with his role (which he refuted on Instagram), and overall it felt like the relationship had just fully run its course–it remains to be seen what the full picture of this trade would be. Morris alone doesn’t send out enough salary to bring back Brogdon, who has 2 seasons remaining on his contract at $22.5M each, though the math is close enough that simple filler, like Jason Preston or Brandon Boston Jr., could help complete the trade. There’s also the matter of draft compensation. What exactly is Washington due if Porzingis flexes the leverage of his player option? Opt-in-and-trade deals simply don’t net the same kind of return that a player gets when he doesn’t have the option to walk away as a free agent next week, as Clippers fans will recall with the return from sending Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets in a similar situation 6 years ago. And if the Celtics are getting a desired upgrade from Brogdon to Porzingis, shouldn’t they be pitching in to get that upgrade as well? The Clippers have some options, and while Brogdon is a good addition, I would be against over-committing assets to acquire a non-star at this stage of the 213 era.

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NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers in Malcolm Brogdon talks
Lucas Hann

Update: The Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Greif has strongly stated that sources are “adamant” that the Clippers are not looking to trade Luke Kennard. It is unclear at this time what the Clippers are looking to do–they’re obviously working on stuff, but the team hates to have leaks and rumors surrounding them. It’s also possible that they were talking about Luke, but nothing materialized, so they are now covering their tracks.

According to Sean Deveney, a lower-profile but established NBA reporter, the Clippers are shopping sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard. While it’s likely that the heaviest flurry of trade activity this off-season will focus around today’s NBA Draft, Deveney notes that the Clippers are expected to continue looking for a deal for Kennard during free agency if he isn’t moved today. He listed the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento Kings as suitors; subsequent (questionable) Twitter scuttle this morning has linked the Celtics to Kennard:

Kennard is coming off a fantastic bounce-back second year with the Clippers where he stayed healthy to make 70 appearances, averaging 11.9 points while shooting a league-best 44.9% from beyond the three-point arc. It’s no wonder, in today’s high-scoring game, that teams would covet the highest-efficiency three-point shooter in the league. And the Clippers, despite Kennard’s strong season, have reason to look to move on–they have a severe logjam at the wing positions as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard retake their full-time starting spots and trade deadline acquisition Norman Powell plays his first full season with the team. Kennard would be competing on the fringes of the rotation with Terance Mann, whose defensive-minded skillset is a better complement to the aformentioned players, and Amir Coffey, who can’t be traded as the Clippers hope to retain him in restricted free agency next month. Trading Kennard would hopefully allow him to find a larger role to flourish in during his prime (he turns 26 tomorrow) as well as net the Clippers an asset and allow them to avoid awkward playing time disputes this season.

Of the three teams mentioned, Chicago could likely put together the most appealing package for the Clippers. Assuming little-used center Tony Bradley picks up his $2M player option, the Bulls could make the math work by trading young guard Coby White and Bradley for Kennard. White is only 22 years old and appears to have some upside, but hasn’t really emerged as a good player yet. For the Clippers to bite, I’d expect they’d also want Chicago’s 18th overall pick in tonight’s draft, which they could either use to add another developmental piece or flip again (eyeing Marcus Morris + 18 for Malcolm Brogdon or Kyle Kuzma in this space). But to give up both White and their first round pick, the Bulls will likely want to hunt bigger game, and without both, it’s hard to make a deal that is both legal and attractive for LAC.

Boston and Sacramento both have an easier time making the math work on a Kennard trade–the Celtics have a massive, soon expiring trade exception from Evan Fournier last summer that they could absorb Kennard into, and the Kings have small, expendable contracts. To add value, each team would have to look at prospects or picks. Boston is dangling Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard in talks, but neither is super appealing in a straight-up swap for Kennard since the Clippers don’t have roles for them to fill anyway (I could maybe see the Clippers eating the downgrade on a Kennard-Pritchard swap to get a cheap, solid, younger backup PG for the next two years and save a bunch of luxury tax money).

Once Sacramento refuses to put Davion Mitchell in a deal, as they should, they don’t have enticing young players for LAC to consider. Boston doesn’t have a first round pick this year to offer LAC, and Sacramento only has #4, which they’d never surrender in this deal. Both teams have plenty of their own future picks, but that’s complicated as well–Boston, fresh off a Finals appearance, should be very good for a long time, making those picks low-value, while Sacramento is perpetually bad and likely wouldn’t surrender their own future firsts without strong protections.

It’s possible that a deal could be workable, but the protections would have to get wonky. Would Boston give LAC a pick 4 or 5 years out, increasing its value and giving them more time to flip it in another deal? If it’s their 2023 pick, would they be willing to reverse-protect it (so if it’s 21-30, Boston keeps it and LAC gets 2024, but if it’s top-20, LAC gets it)? What protections would Sacramento require? All protected future 1sts either eventually lose their protections as they role over year-to-year, or convert to 2nd round picks instead. How many years would the Kings let it roll over with lottery protections, tying up their ability to make future trades? And when the protections changed, would the pick grow less and less protected or would it simply convey as a 2nd rounder instead? Negotiating out these tiny details can be painstaking, but they determine how much value teams are really getting out of these future picks.

NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers “Shopping” Luke Kennard; Bulls, Kings, Celtics Interested
Lucas Hann

In their first game out east this season, the L.A. Clippers ended their two-game skid, downing the Boston Celtics 91-82 Wednesday night. Playing a team-high 38 minutes while on a “minutes restriction,” Marcus Morris Sr. led the way for L.A., putting up 23 points (9-21 FG, 5-6 FT), 10 rebounds, and two assists. Back in his backyard, Terance Mann came up clutch for the Clippers, adding in 17 points (7-11 FG, 2-4 3PT), five rebounds, and three assists. Eric Bledsoe stepped up his play once again with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown tallied 30 points (13-36 FG, 1-13 3PT), eight rebounds, and two steals. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Celtics game recap.

Summary

It was a promising opening frame for the Clippers, who after conceding the early momentum in each of their last two affairs, managed to hold a two-possession lead this time out. With the severe lack of shot creators and facilitators available, what almost singlehandedly carried the LAC offense here was Marcus Morris Sr.’s mid-range mastery, which looked as sharp as it did back in Game 5 of the conference finals. Noted Lowell, Massachusetts native Terance Mann looked amped up out of the gates as well, supporting Mook with seven points of his own on 3-for-3 shooting. Down low, Ivica Zubac did his thing both contesting shots without fouling and cleaning the glass. Perhaps the biggest difference in the period, however, was Boston showing who they are as the league’s 22nd ranked 3-point shooting team — going 2-for 9 from deep. After one, LAC held a 26-21 lead.

Towards the tail end of the first, the Clippers’ offense was almost exclusively centered on getting Morris Sr. the ball and getting out of his way. Well, once Senior sat down to start the second, it’s no surprise that Boston began to go on a run. LAC trotted out a Xavier Moon-Luke Kennard-Amir Coffey-Justise Winslow-Serge Ibaka lineup that was all out of sorts offensively. As to be expected, the guys out there tried to find that balance of making the right play and getting aggressive for themselves, but it amounted to a lot of one-and-done possessions and plays where they just couldn’t connect with each other. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown started to get loose, scoring 11 in the period to fuel a 16-point turnaround for the Celtics. About midway through the second with the Clippers down 30-34, Morris Sr. and Zubac returned to right the ship almost immediately. The rest of the way, Coffey and the starters went on a 17-6 run, knocking down quality looks within the fast-paced offense while the Celtics continued to shoot 0-5 from three. At the break, the Clippers took a 47-40 advantage back to the locker room.

With the starters out there, the Clippers looked good and took a 55-45 lead in the period’s opening minutes. After Tyronn Lue sat Eric Bledsoe, however, things got ugly fast once again as Boston used the point guard-less LAC turnovers to spark a quick 12-2 run. Soon enough, things got even weirder, however, as the shorthanded Clippers opted to go small and got rewarded for it. With a Moon-Kennard-Mann-Coffey-Winslow lineup, it appears there was just the right amount of chaos for it to work. While the free-flowing makeshift-Clipper offense found the right guys at the right time, the Celtic bench somehow could not find ways to score against Mann and Winslow inside. The defining play of the frame was Winslow getting a stop on Brown at the rim before pushing it up to hit Mann in the corner, who swung it for a wing Coffey 3. Heading into the final frame, the Clippers were out in front 69-63.

In what was already a game featuring the “not-so-Clippers take on the not-so-Celtics,” the two teams combined for 13-for-48 shooting from the field to close. It was truly not a fun finish to watch, but the Clippers got it done mostly by watching Boston brick three after three. While Brown rightfully established himself as the most talented player on the floor up to this point, Morris Sr. and Bledsoe stepped in as the closers for the contest, combining for 17 of LA’s 22 points in the fourth.

Clippers vs. Celtics Game Notes

• Rusty Rotations: Going into this one, Lue mentioned that it’s been tough to keep the offense rolling for 48 minutes with Bledsoe being the one dependable primary ball-handler out there. Well, hopefully, Reggie Jackson can make his return soon because that was exactly the case again tonight. The Luke-and-Mook stagger really only worked once Luke had Mann out there as well with the bench unit, so Lue’s adjustment there definitely saved LAC in the third. Amir Coffey was prioritized as the first sub off the bench in this one, and rightfully so, as he brought some much-needed stability on both ends.
• Moon’s Shot: With more meaningful minutes for Xavier Moon in this one, it’s clear he has more work to do to stand where Clipper-legend Yogi Ferrell once did. In all seriousness though, while Moon could not get one to drop tonight, he did do a good job of pushing the ball up and not hesitating overall.
• No Iso Joe?: Admittedly, I have not watched Joe Johnson play this season outside of a quick highlight montage on Instagram. As much as Johnson might be washed, however, his storied past against the Clippers leads me to believe he could’ve provided a spark for Boston. Tonight, the Celtics went 4-for-42 (9.5%) from deep.

Up Next: On New Year’s Eve, the Clippers will visit the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on Friday, Dec. 31, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs. Celtics Recap: Clips Clamp Up in 91-82 Win
Ralston Dacanay

Heading into a matchup in which both teams are shorthanded, struggling, and hoping to hang around .500, the L.A. Clippers (17-17) visit the Boston Celtics (16-18) Wednesday night. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Celtics game preview.

Clippers vs. Celtics Game Information

Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
When: 4:30 p.m. PT
How to Tune in: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570 KLAC, KTMZ

Projected Starting Lineups:
L.A. Clippers: Eric Bledsoe – Luke Kennard – Terance Mann – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Boston Celtics: Payton Pritchard – Romeo Langford – Jaylen Brown – Al Horford – Robert Williams

Injury Report:
L.A. Clippers: Nicolas Batum – OUT (Right Ankle Sprain), Brandon Boston Jr. – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Paul George – OUT (Right Elbow UCL Tear), Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (Left Ankle Sprain), Reggie Jackson – DOUBTFUL (Return to Competition Reconditioning), Kawhi Leonard – OUT (Right Knee; ACL – Injury Recovery), Jason Preston – OUT (Right Foot – Injury Recovery), Jay Scrubb – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Moses Wright – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols)
Boston Celtics: Bruno Fernando – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Enes Freedom – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), C.J. Miles – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Aaron Nesmith – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Dennis Schröder – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols), Marcus Smart – QUESTIONABLE (Right Hand Laceration), Jayson Tatum – OUT (Health & Safety Protocols)

The Big Picture

With Monday night’s rout at the hands of Brooklyn, the Clippers have gone from 5-1 to 1-5 in their last 12 games. The clear catalyst for the struggles has been showcased nightly on the injury report. With several core pieces for the Clippers continuing to be sidelined in addition to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard facing significant roads to recovery, LAC’s very bad injury situation to start the year has somehow gotten even worse in what unfortunately appears to be the new normal for the foreseeable future. The lack of continuity with the Clippers’ makeshift lineups was on full display last time out as James Harden surgically picked LAC apart with both his scoring and his playmaking firing on all cylinders. Although it seems Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Hartenstein, and perhaps Nicolas Batum could be unavailable for this upcoming three-game east coast trip, however, the Clippers should still have some opportunities to steal a win or two, especially tonight.

The Antagonist

The last time LAC faced Boston, the PG-less Clippers led by as much as 21 but almost threw the game as the Jaylen Brown-less Celtics scored at will inside to close. Afterward, first-year head coach Ime Udoka and co. specifically noted how disappointed they were in their 23 turnovers in the contest. Even after getting Brown back shortly after the Dec. 8 affair, however, the Celtics have been off in that regard (23rd in turnovers over their last nine games) as well as in general.

“It’s like at times, you’re trying to plug up the dam and [there’s] a different hole every night with something,” Udoka said after Boston’s loss to Minnesota sans their starters. “We’re really good at one thing and then something else creeps up on us.”

Clippers vs. Celtics Game Notes

• Scheming for JB: Looking back on the last two losses in which it mostly came down to a difference in top-tier talent, that shouldn’t be an issue tonight. As awesome as Jaylen Brown is, the one-time All-Star wing isn’t nearly as much of a playmaking threat, nor a closer as the last two alpha dogs LAC has matched up with in Harden and Nikola Jokić. This should hopefully bode well for this Clipper team that recently hasn’t been able to be on the same defensively a lot of the time with guys going in and out of the lineup.
• On-ball Juice: In Monday night’s postgame presser, it was interesting to hear Tyronn Lue admit that without Paul George and Reggie Jackson, it has been tough to figure out the team’s identity and rotations with there being a lack of another primary ball-handler besides Eric Bledsoe. Of course, having Nicolas Batum and Isaiah Hartenstein out also makes these facilitating issues even worse so it will be interesting to see once again what LAC does when Bled sits tonight.

• Deep Bench Battle: With Dennis Schröder out, this Boston team that was already pretty shallow on depth to begin the year is even more so tonight. Coming in ranked 27th in bench scoring, the Celtics should slow down offensively once Brown sits. As such, this could be another prime opportunity for Brandon Boston Jr. (now sadly in safety protocols) to get loose, or perhaps guys like Amir Coffey and Serge Ibaka.
  
  Update: Brandon Boston Jr. is out tonight after entering health and safety protocols, per the Clippers.

Feel free to stick around and chat down below as this article’s comment section will serve as our live game thread tonight against the Boston Celtics. Sign up for a free account and join the conversation!

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs. Celtics Preview: Searching for Good Fortune
Ralston Dacanay

In another rough finish, the Clippers stumbled in the fourth quarter en route to a loss in Boston Tuesday night. Let’s check out how it all shook out in our Clippers vs Celtics player grades.

Clippers Starter Grades

Patrick Beverley: B. If the Clippers had Kawhi Leonard (or gotten a better collection of offensive production from elsewhere, Pat’s grade here would look better. Good defense, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. A nice gluey performance. But with Leonard sidelined, Morris picking up an injury, Lou Williams struggling, and Paul George going cold… look, I get it’s not Pat’s game to be a volume scorer, but a little more aggression than 3 shot attempts in 27 minutes was called for here.

Reggie Jackson: A. For a guy who learned he’d be starting when he heard his name called during introductions, Reggie sure took it in stride. With 25 points on a hyper-efficient 10-14 shooting, he brought the punch that LAC needed to stay in the game offensively with a couple of their bigger guns sidelined.

Paul George: B+. Despite the final minute of the game resting pretty squarely on the shoulders of George’s decision-making, I feel like I have to give a B+ here to acknowlege that this was still an above-average game for PG, who put up 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists despite having a rough night from 3 (5-15). If he had caught fire, it could have been a huge game. As it was, it was still a good one, even though he settled for poor shots in the closing minutes. At least he was squandering chances to get back into the game after the bench fell behind early in the fourth, instead of blowing a lead himself.

Nicolas Batum: B. Similar to Bev, this was by no means a bad individual performance from Nic, who finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. And I can’t even complain that I would have liked to see Morris’ firepower in the game more, since Marcus was ruled out of the second half with a concussion. Nonetheless, these kinds of in-the-margins contributions are a lot more meaningful when you win.

Serge Ibaka: C. At least Nic and Pat aren’t expected to make well-rounded contributions rather than be scorers–Serge should be a shoe-in for double figure scoring on a night when LAC is down a star. Just 7 points on 3-9 from the field ain’t gonna cut it. In a game that featured Serge, Ivica Zubac, Tristan Thompson, Daniel Theis, and Robert Williams, Serge should be the highest-scoring big man. Instead, he had the lowest total of those five guys.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Lou Williams: C+. I try to be fairly consistent on here in recognizing that all I can ask of guys is that they play their game, take their shots, and make a good enough percentage over time–hot and cold nights are going to happen to everyone. This was a cold one for Lou, but I didn’t think it was a disastrous performance by any means as he finished with 12 points on 13 shots and 4 assists. You’ll live with this as his bad night considering how good he’s been of late.

Ivica Zubac: A-. People will want to point to Williams’ big night as a mark against Zu, but actually Williams mostly did his damage in space behind Zubac when the Clippers had big Zu step up and hedge against Jayson Tatum screens and dare the Celtics to dump the ball in to the young big man. Williams made them pay with 13 points on 4-5 shooting and 4 assists, but that wasn’t Zu’s fault–Zu deserves credit for helping limit Tatum to 14 points on 5-16 shooting. Zu also led the team with 10 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive, and added 8 points and 3 assists to the offensive effort. It was a really nice overall game for Zu.

Terance Mann: D. The infusion of energy just wasn’t the same for Mann tonight as it had been in other contests of late, and as a result he ended up bringing essentially nothing to the team. He did pick up a few assists, but he was scoreless, bad on defense, and didn’t even grab a single rebound in 20 minutes. Considering his run of form lately, you have to just shrug your shoulders and accept that a stinker was eventually inevitable, but hopefully Terance can make this performance an aberration and pick things up Thursday.

Marcus Morris: B+. Morris was having a nice outing providing some scoring off the bench, with 10 points on 4-7 shooting in 15 minutes, before he was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion. There isn’t much to say about his brief time in this one except he was playing his normal game, and playing well. Hopefully he feels better quickly and can be back in the lineup after the All-Star Break.

No Grades

Luke Kennard did get 5 minutes of second-half action, but I don’t feel like assigning a grade for such a small shift when he both didn’t do much and was playing out of position in a weird, 4-guard lineup. Mfiondu Kabengele was the Clippers’ sole unused substitute. Amir Coffey was still with the Agua Caliente Clippers in the G-League’s Orlando bubble for this game, though I assume he will be recalled for Thursday’s final pre-All Star contest. Patrick Patterson remains out due to personal reasons. Kawhi Leonard was a last-minute scratch with back spasms. Daniel Oturu and Jay Scrubb are both still recovering from injuries as well.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Celtics Player Grades
Lucas Hann

Before we get to the game play, a few things happened between our preview and this recap: First, Jaylen Brown went from questionable to available, and started for the Celtics. Second, Kawhi Leonard was a very late scratch. Per the Clippers, although Reggie Jackson started for Kawhi, he was supposed to be available. Then, towards the end of the quarter, it was announced that he was out due to back spasms. Now, on with the rest of the recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Celtics.

Summary

The first quarter was fairly high scoring, with the Celtics taking a 35-32 lead, and both teams shooting above 59% from the field. The Celtics were led by Brown, who hit six shots (two threes) in the first frame, finishing with 14 points. He was rivaled by Paul George, who was 5/6 (1/2 from three) and finished an and-one for twelve points. Neither team was particularly sharp on defense, but the Celtics certainly getting easier looks early. They probably should have been up by more if it were not for four turnovers.

Zubac was great on the glass early, with two offensive and defensive rebounds each in the first quarter and already had six by mid-way through the second quarter. Marcus Morris, Sr. was huge off the bench, finishing halftime with 10 points on 4/7 shooting. Morris and George were able to keep the Clippers in the game after the Celtics opened up an eight point cushion early in the second. George was aggressive and took advantage of smaller defenders (21 points on 8/12 shootings the half). The lead changed hands a few times but stayed close, with the Clippers going into halftime with a one point lead, 63-62.

Reggie Jackson also added 10 points and the Clippers as a whole continued to shoot very well (over 56% from the field and from three). The Celtics’ shooting slowed down a bit, but Kemba and Tatum joined Brown in double digits to lead their offensive production.

Just before the half, Morris went to the locker room early after getting elbowed in the head by Jaylen Brown while going up for a rebound. During the third quarter, it was announced that he in fact had a concussion, and would be out the rest of the game.

Out of the break, the Clippers continued to get great looks through ball movement. Patrick Beverley, specifically, drove into the lane after the Clippers got the Celtics scrambling and found three point shooters twice early in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Celtics were able to keep up with the Clippers’ scoring and the third quarter ended just as it began: Clippers up by just one. Specifically, Kemba kept scoring and Payton Pritchard continued to hit opportunistic threes to keep the Celtics attached.

In the fourth, the Clippers let themselves get into a hole, including giving up a nine point run. They eventually responded with a run of their own, but the Celtics were able to hold the Clippers at arm’s length. The Clippers got within four (109-113) with about two minutes to go but the next two Clippers shots were rushed Paul George three pointers, neither of which were successful. Although George did hit a three with 11.5 seconds left, it was too late. The Clippers were playing the foul game and the Celtics were able to knock them down (including two clutch free throws by Daniel Theis), closing it out.

Notes

Luke Kennard Gets a Quick Look: Although Kawhi was sitting and Morris left the game early, Kennard did not get into the game until the last two minutes of the third quarter. I am a proponent of Luke getting back into the rotation, but he was put in a tough spot (three guard lineup) and did not look ready to go. In my view, this team has a higher ceiling with Kennard playing well because he is a versatile scorer who can take pressure off of Kawhi and George. He has not earned the playing time yet, but I would like to see him quality minutes so he can grow. After all, he barely played last season. He needs reps.

Reggie Jackson Starts: Reggie was extremely productive tonight, so he deserves a shout out. He had 25 points, 7 assists, and three rebounds (three turnovers) on 10/14 shooting from the field and 5/6 from three. He was -10 +/-, for what that’s worth. The bench overall was outplayed, so he might be suffering there because of that.

Drawing Fouls: The Clippers only shot nine free throws all night, which is not good enough, even with Kawhi out. Boston was 17/23 from the line, so their win margin was essentially found there. In fact, the Clippers made more field goals and three pointers. Part of this is due to the fact that the Clippers were taking longer shots and not attacking the basket, of course, but there needs to be more intentionality about getting to the line, especially from Lou and George.

That about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Celtics. Stay tuned for Lucas’ player grades and a new episode of TLTJTP, and come back Thursday for a final contest against the Wizards.

Clippers vs. Celtics Recap: Clips Fall Short, 112-117
Kenneth Armstrong

The Clippers dropped a tough, close game to the Celtics, where key mistakes will impact tonight’s edition of player grades.

Clippers Starter Grades

Reggie Jackson: D. Reggie was pretty dreadful tonight, from picking up two early fouls to going 0-4 on the field on poor shot selection to committing boneheaded turnovers to dying on screens defensively. It was a worse outing than his last two games against Brooklyn and Cleveland, which is saying something since he didn’t really make a positive contribution in either of those games. That’s also now three straight games where he’s given the Clippers nothing in his starter’s minutes, which is a worrying sign going forward. He’s definitely earned continued opportunities through his struggles, but 21 minutes of Reggie tonight was brutal. Going forward, I’d consider starting Terance Mann and Lou Williams together at the guard positions while George is out to bring some balance of the pick-and-roll playmaking and perimeter defense that PG normally provides.

Luke Kennard: C+. Luke had a fine night on total, but overall it was disappointing. In the box, you’d be happy to get 13 points from him on 9 shots, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and no turnovers in 26 minutes. But 8 of those points came in the opening minutes, all 13 came in the first half, and he didn’t score and had just 1 assist on two shot attempts in 10 minutes in the second half. In what was a B night in the box score, Luke gets demoted to B- for his disappearing act… and then moves down to C+ for an awful blunder late in the game where he committed an extremely late foul on a missed Carsen Edwards three to give away the Clippers’ lead after they had clawed back from a double-digit deficit.

Kawhi Leonard: B+. It was a good-but-not-great outing for Kawhi, who was clearly the Clippers’ best player but maybe not quite in the mode you need him to be when he’s the only star in the lineup. He finished with 28 points on 8-19 shooting, getting to the line 14 times and pulling down a team-best 11 rebounds. He had 5 assists but 3 turnovers, which was a bit disappointing considering how much the team’s offense has to center on him with George unavailable. Particularly disappointing was coughing up the ball after a Nic Batum steal in the last minute, when the Clippers had a chance to have a two-for-one to extend their one-point lead. Leonard was good tonight but Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was just a bit better, and the Clippers probably need Kawhi to be the best player on the floor to win games while PG is out.

Nic Batum: A-. Nic flew a bit more under the radar tonight than normally, but still finished with an efficient 16 points on 6-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals. In this iteration of the Clippers, he can’t just be a spot-up shooter on offense, though. He’s going to have to use his court vision to create good shots for his teammates, and he’s only had more than 2 assists twice in his last 11 games: with Pat, PG, and Kawhi all sidelined in Atlanta and during the team’s onslaught in Orlando. For comparison, he had more than 2 assists 8 times in the team’s first 12 games.

Serge Ibaka: B-. In an atypical occurence, Serge was better on defense than offense tonight, where he finished with just 7 points on 3-7 shooting and 2 assists to 3 turnovers. It would have been nicer if he had a better night shooting the ball from deep, where he was just 1-4, but I try not to punish guys for having cold shooting nights–generally, I’m glad to see good shooters putting more threes up, make or miss.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Marcus Morris: B+. One of Morris’ valuable NBA skills is his ability to create his own shot from the mid-range–something the Clippers often don’t need him to do because of their high-powered attack, but something that came in handy several times tonight. He had 13 points on 5-11 shooting, hit a hat trick of threes, and picked up a couple of assists. But to really reach the higher standards, I’m still looking for Marcus to make an impact in more areas than his scoring. Don’t get me wrong, his shot-making in isolation and as a spot-up guy have been valuable, but he just hasn’t done enough on defense or the glass to consistently earn top marks. Particularly with the rebounding, it feels like Ivica Zubac is constantly battling multiple opponents while his teammates watch, and Morris is typically the second-biggest player on the floor who you’d expect to pitch in a bit more.

Lou Williams: A-. Not a classic 30-point Lou Williams outing, but a very, very good one. He was the Clippers’ second-best player on offense tonight after Kawhi, and their third best overall behind Zubac. Lou contributed 18 points on just 10 shot attempts and added 6 assists, with 14 of his points coming in the fourth quarter as he led the Clippers back from a double-digit deficit, including a huge three to take the lead back with 46.1 seconds to play. He’s pretty clearly the Clippers’ third-best playmaker behind Paul and Kawhi, and after struggles early in the year the Clippers are going to need him to continue rounding into form.

Ivica Zubac: A. Zu was dominant in the lane tonight, with 14 points on 7-7 shooting and 6 rebounds in his 20 minutes of play. He caught some really tricky passes in the pick-and-roll and finished some powerful dunks in traffic, and was exceptional defending at the rim. After some really dreadful performances to start the year, Zu has been absolutely dominant in almost all of their games in the last two weeks, with this being his 6th A in the last 10 games. That’s a guy who is a star in his role, just like the Zu we knew last year.

Terance Mann: B+. Mann made a nice, well-rounded contribution in his 19 minutes tonight with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. It actually could have been 7 points–he moved nicely off the ball to find an open corner three and made it with confidence, only for the shot to be taken off the board later at the next break when replay showed that he had stepped on the sideline. He came in early in the first quarter when Jackson picked up a pair of fouls, and things ran smoothly on both ends with Terance on the floor.

No Grades

Paul George, Patrick Beverley, and Jay Scrubb are all injured. Daniel Oturu remains on the inactive list as Agua Caliente gears up for G-League bubble play to begin next week. Mfiondu Kabengele and Patrick Patterson were unused subs.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Celtics Player Grades
Lucas Hann

After a successful 6-game road trip, the Clippers would slip up against the Boston Celtics on Friday night in Los Angeles as both teams were without a pair of crucial starters.

Clippers vs Celtics Game Summary

The Clippers and Celtics are two of the best teams in the NBA and contenders in their respective conferences, and there are some similarities between the two: both feature a stellar duo of superstar wings with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in LA, and both have all-defense guards who are the heart and soul of their teams in Marcus Smart and Patrick Beverley. Take Brown, George, Smart, and Beverley out of the equation due to various injuries, and this match-up got a whole lot weirder (though not any less entertaining).

The Clippers got off to a strong start offensively despite George’s absence as Luke Kennard started in his place and found 8 early points, finishing the half (and the game, unfortunately) with 13 from the starting shooting guard position. The Clippers took a 12-point lead out of the opening frame and would have likely extended it before halftime if not for a short scoring flurry from Celtics backup Carsen Edwards disrupting things during the second quarter. Still, the hosts took an 11-point advantage into the break as Leonard and Morris joined Kennard in double figures in the first half.

But in the third quarter, the Celtics not only erased the Clippers’ double-digit lead but built one of their own, flipping a 73-63 score to 79-89 in a six-minute, 26-6 run that saw the Celtics go 6-6 from downtown as the Clippers went just 1-9 from the field with a pair of turnovers. In total, Boston outscored the Clippers 38-20 in the frame, shooting 8-11 from beyond the arc compared to 2-8 for LAC and scoring 8 points off of 4 Clipper turnovers. It was a devastating quarter for the Clippers, who got caught in a perfect storm of fatigued sloppiness on offense leading to transition opportunities for Boston and a wide disparity in shot-making on the open looks each team generated.

To their credit, LA clawed back admirably in the fourth despite being in the midst of their 8th game in 13 nights, a span that included 6 flights. Lou Williams had 14 points and a pair of assists in the frame as Zu added 6 of his own before checking out of the game, and the team even got so far as to retake the lead twice in the waning minutes. But both times, mental errors immediately handed the advantage back to Boston: first, Luke Kennard commited an extremely late foul on a missed three by Carsen Edwards to send the Celtics guard to the line for three free throws with 2:25 left, and then after Nicolas Batum came up with a steal to give the Clippers the ball back as they led by 1 with 40 seconds left, Kawhi Leonard immediately coughed the ball back up and Kemba Walker hit the final go-ahead shot of the game.

Clippers vs Celtics Game Notes

• Paul George: I’d say that everyone in Clipper nation was holding their breath as we wait to hear more about George’s toe injury, which held him out of tonight’s game, but because Clippers fans are Clippers fans it seems like most people have already decided he’s going to miss a ton of games. In reality, we’re going to have to be patient in the coming days while we wait for more news about exactly what’s causing Paul’s discomfort and how long the team will (or won’t) be without him.

• Bad Reggie: After alternating stellar and solid performances in his first few games starting in place of Patrick Beverley, Reggie has come down to earth in the Clippers’ last few contests. He had just 9 points on 3-9 shooting in Brooklyn, 0 points on 0-3 shooting in Cleveland, and 2 points on 0-4 shooting tonight against the Celtics. In addition to being cold, which happens to everyone, Reggie’s head is totally out of the game as he misses easy reads, makes puzzling decisions with the ball, and dies on screens defensively. He’s definitely earned a bit of a leash and shouldn’t be benched after a few bad games, and the team needs at least some minutes from him with Pat and Paul both out, but hopefully the coaching staff is helping him get his focus levels back up–and if he puts up another performance like tonight’s, they shouldn’t leave him out there for 21 minutes.

• Turnovers, Points off: The Clippers are one of the lowest turnover teams in the NBA, committing just 13.3 per game, but they got caught with 16 tonight and gave up 26 Celtic points off of those miscues. They also only forced 7 mistakes by Boston for only 8 Clipper points, making for a huge disparity in that area. While each team’s runs were fueled by hot-and-cold three-point shooting and timely offensive rebounds, those two categories mostly evened out over the course of 48 minutes. Points off turnovers was the big decider tonight.

• What’s Next? While the Clippers wait for news on George (and the return of Patrick Beverley), they have a few easier games on their upcoming schedule. It’s nice, because these are winnable contests while shorthanded and could give the team some reps and confidence if they have to prepare to spend a few weeks without PG, but you’d also hate to look back at the end of the season and have dropped games to a few of these teams. The team’s next five come against Sacramento, Minnesota, Chicago, Cleveland, and Miami (the reigning Eastern Conference champs are just 7-14 and dropped their last 2 games to Charlotte and Washington despite getting key players back from injury)–a little winning streak here is just what LAC needs heading into some tougher games in the back half of the month.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers Slip Against Celtics, 119-115
Lucas Hann

After a long, grueling six-game road trip, the Clippers are finally back at STAPLES Center tonight vs the Boston Celtics. Check out our full Clippers vs Celtics game preview below:

Clippers vs Celtics Game Information

When: 7:00 PM Pacific
Where: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
How to Watch: ESPN, Fox Sports West

Projected Starters:
Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker – Jaylen Brown – Jayson Tatum – Daniel Theis – Tristan Thompson
LA Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Nicolas Batum – Serge Ibaka

Injury Report:
Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown – QUESTIONABLE (left knee soreness), Romeo Langford – OUT (right wrist surgery), Payton Pritchard – QUESTIONABLE (right MCL sprain), Marcus Smart – OUT (left calf tear)
LA Clippers: Jay Scrubb – OUT (foot surgery), Patrick Beverley – OUT (right knee soreness)

The Big Picture

The Clippers have to feel good after going 4-2 on their 6-game road trip, including splitting a pair of games with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard sidelined. They’re neck-and-neck with the Jazz and Lakers atop the Western Conference, several role players are finding themselves in the team’s new system, and it really feels like good vibes all around.

They’re going to need those vibes as they enter a much tougher stretch of schedule in February, kicking off in this game against the Boston Celtics. In the next 30 days, they’ll see the Heat again, the Jazz twice, the Nets again, the Milwaukee Bucks, and then face off against these Celtics the second time–that’s a lot of high-level playoff teams in a one-month span.

The first game back from a long road trip can be particularly brutal, as fatigue from the travel catches up to you after the last flight of the trip back to Los Angeles. Have you ever had a crazy week where you ride through on adrenaline and then feel sick as soon as you let your body take a break and sleep in Saturday morning? Coming back to LA after 6 games in 5 cities in 9 days can have a similar effect. I was worried on Wednesday that the long road trip would catch up to the Clippers and cause them to struggle to keep up their energy for 48 minutes–I’m worried about that again tonight.

The Antagonist

The Boston Celtics are really good, but they might be a shell of themselves in Los Angeles tonight. Marcus Smart, Boston’s third-best player, is in the midst of an extended absence due to a calf injury. Jaylen Brown, their second-best player, is questionable. Kemba Walker, an important offensive weapon, has struggled immensely to start his season after missing the team’s first 11 games with a knee injury. And between Walkers’ unavailability and struggles, Jeff Teague’s mostly disastrous play, and injuries to Marcus Smart, Payton Pritchard, and Romeo Langford, the Celtics have struggled with spotty guard rotations for much of the season.

Despite that, the Celtics have still been good this season. They’re 4th in the Eastern Conference at 11-9 with an above-average offense, above-average defense, and top-10 net rating. And they have a legitimately elite superstar duo with Tatum and Brown. Tatum isn’t a surprise–he’s already established himself–but Brown has really taken a leap so far this season and is now averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 51.8% from the field and 42.4% from three. Everything there except for rebounds is a career high by a significant margin.

It’s around that duo that Brad Stevens still has some work to do–work that will get easier when Walker and Smart are both fully healthy and back to their normal selves. Boston’s next two most reliable role players are big men Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson, both of whom are plus defenders with Theis spacing the floor as a 40% three point shooter and Thompson leading the team’s rebounding efforts. That six-man core is really, really solid, but losing Gordan Hayward in free agency really hurt the Celtics’ perimeter depth as they now rely heavily on a cast of players in their 20s who haven’t quite proven themselves as contributors to playoff teams yet. It’s good, of course, that Boston has drafted a slate of solid players in recent years–it’s just that those are guys you’d probably rather have a little lower in your rotation until they properly break out, rather than relying on them to play significant minutes without alternatives.

Clippers vs Celtics Game Notes

• Low-Volume Shooting: The Celtics play some of the lowest-volume three-point shooting games in the NBA, as they’re 24th in the NBA in three point attempts per game while holding their opponents to the 5th-fewest attempts per game. The Clippers like to keep opponents from shooting threes, so they’ll be happy if the Celtics don’t take a ton of looks from beyond the arc, but they’re the best three-point shooting team in the NBA on their own shots. If Boston can keep the Clippers from getting a lot of threes up, LA’s offense could be held in check, but if the Clippers are able to buck that trend, they’ll likely run away with this one.

• Two Bigs: Ty Lue has been reluctant to play Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac together this season, even in games where the Clippers were shorthanded at power forward or facing an opponent who plays two big men. But it’s worth noting that the Celtics, for lack of better options, typically start Theis and Thompson together and play stretches with both big men on the floor. I’m not expecting Lue to really go for it tonight, but it’s definitely got to be worth a look at some point in the regular season just so the Clippers are comfortable with it as a situational lineup when the playoffs come around. With both guys playing well of late, it might be time.

• Reggie: In the last 6.5 games since Patrick Beverley got hurt, Reggie Jackson has taken over starting point guard duties (he’s started 6 games in a row and played 20 second-half minutes two weeks ago against OKC when Beverley wasn’t available after halftime). He’s had some really nice outings–not even “good for an injury replacement starter,” just straight-up good starting NBA point guard play–against Oklahoma City, Atlanta, and the Knicks. And he had some solid, if unspectacular, outings against Miami and Orlando. But he was a mix of bad and unimpactful in the Clippers’ last two contests against Brooklyn and Cleveland, which might be concerning as those were the two best opponents the full-strength Clippers lineup has seen since Reggie’s been in it. On balance, he’s still done a great job filling in for Pat, but his highs and lows open up a wide range of outcomes for the team.

• Grudge Match: There’s no real rivalry between these teams, and even the bit of tension after Doc Rivers left the Celtics for the Clippers is now gone. But, these two squads played two excellent, hotly contested games last season: a double overtime victory for the Celtics in Boston and an overtime victory for the Clippers in Los Angeles. If Brown misses this game in addition to Smart’s absence, you’d expect the Clippers to have a significant advantage. But if he plays, these are two good teams with star power who could give us another classic.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Celtics Game Preview: Homecoming
Lucas Hann

We’ve (understandably) been focused on the Clippers’ second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, but now feels like a good time to take a step back, look around the league, and check in on our Rooting Interests as the second round is nearing conclusion in the Eastern Conference and past the halfway mark in the Western Conference.

Let’s dive in!

East 1. Milwaukee Bucks 1, 5. Miami Heat 4

Lucas’ Prediction: Heat in 7

Was my prediction right? No. But considering how many folks thought the Bucks would come out on top, I’m feeling pretty good about my belief in the Miami Heat in this match-up.

Now that the Heat have dethroned Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, it’s time to flip perspective and, with the presumptive Eastern Conference Champions out of the playoffs, consider just how dangerous these Heat are. I think that the national narrative will largely write the Heat off in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I’m not sure how wise that is–I wouldn’t be shocked if they challenged or even beat either of their potential ECF opponents. And, with Miami now recovering from the second round and Toronto and Boston headed to a decisive game 7 after each playing four guys 50+ minutes in Wednesday’s double overtime game 6, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll be able to get the jump on a tired opponent in the next round.

The Heat have solidified a very strong identity as a gritty, defensive-oriented team led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Goran Dragic brings finesse on the offensive end, Jae Crowder is playing elite 3-and-D ball, Tyler Herro provides a boost of firepower, and Duncan Robinson makes everyone else’s life easier on the offensive end with his gravity. They’ll be put to the test against either Brad Stevens or Nick Nurse, two great coaches who will make adjustments to pick at the weaknesses they find in Miami’s armor, in the conference finals. If they survive, they will be a legitimate threat to whoever they face in the Finals. These Heat are 100% capable of winning the title this year.

East 2. Toronto Raptors 3, 3. Boston Celtics 3

Lucas’ prediction: Raptors in 6

The prediction died with Boston’s game 5 win, but the Raptors stayed alive–against all odds–with an OG Anunoby three with 0.5 seconds left in game 3 and a double OT win in game 6. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Celtics have been the better team through six games of basketball, but the Raptors have been just good enough in the right moments to get to a coin-flip game 7.

Either team would be favored over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but both would be unwise to overlook Miami. If the Heat can smother Giannis, there’s no reason to expect they can’t have success against Tatum or Siakam. The Raptors will struggle to score consistently against Miami, just as they are against Boston, but have the same kind of elite team defense and intangibles that the Heat pride themselves on.

Who will win this game 7? I have no clue. But I’ll be watching–6pm PT on Friday, after the Clippers and Nuggets play their game 5 at 3:30pm.

West 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2, 4. Houston Rockets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Lakers in 6

Obviously, I want the Rockets to win here–and through 3 games, they actually look like legitimate challengers. They won game 1 and have been close in the fourth quarter in both games 2 and 3 before ultimately falling apart, mostly because of Russell Westbrook’s struggles.

As vulnerable as the Lakers look, I just don’t trust the Rockets. They go cold at the wrong times, Harden can disappear late in games, and Westbrook is a constant liability to go through a 2-minute stretch where he throws the game. Danuel House, definitely one of Houston’s top 6 players, might not play again due to a disciplinary matter, which means more minutes and shots going to inconsistent backups like Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, and Jeff Green.

I do think that Houston is capable of beating the Lakers on a given night, since the Lakers just haven’t been able to score consistently because of their lack of perimeter shooting and the Rockets are capable of hitting such a high volume of threes that even a good defensive team like the Lakers can’t do much to stop them. Can Houston do it 3 of the next 4 games? Probably not. Does their competitiveness in games 2 and 3 indicate that they have a pretty good shot at winning either game 4 or 5? Probably.

It’s also worth tracking the Lakers’ lineups. In order to match up with the small Rockets, Frank Vogel has gone away from Dwight Howard and cut back on his usage of JaVale McGee as well. Anthony Davis is starting to play the lion’s share of minutes at center. Will that stick against a more traditionally-sized Clippers team, or will Vogel revert to a larger lineup?

West 2. LA Clippers 3, 3. Denver Nuggets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Clippers in 6

I am actually leaning towards Clippers in 5 now–I think they won game 3 despite being outplayed by Denver, and won game 4 despite not hitting shots. Now, I have a gut feeling that the three-point floodgates will open for LA in game 5 and help them put the Nuggets away.

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The Clippers’ top priority is winning one more game against the Nuggets and advancing. Inside the locker room, they can’t afford to look at what’s next. Sitting at home in Los Angeles, across the country from the NBA’s Orlando bubble, we have that luxury, and the sooner the Clippers close out Denver, the better they position themselves to get extra rest before future rounds.

Right now, the LAC-DEN series is a day ahead of the LAL-HOU series, meaning that if the Clippers and Lakers both win in 5, LAC would get 2 days of rest before game 1 of the Western Conference Finals while LAL would get just 1. If the Clippers close their series in game 5 on Friday and the Rockets take another game from the Lakers, the WCF would likely begin next Wednesday–meaning 4 days off for the Clippers and just 1 for the Lakers.

But both LA teams also have to look across the bracket and realize that one Eastern Conference finalist is already set and waiting for the other, which will be decided in Friday’s game 7 between Boston and Toronto. That series could start as soon as Sunday, though the league could give the winner of the Celtics and Raptors extra rest since the East is so far ahead of schedule.

Still, if either Western Conference second round series stretches to 6 or 7 games, the WCF will start well behind the ECF, which could leave the EC champ waiting around for their Finals opponent.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Rooting Interests: Second Round Continues
Lucas Hann