The Clippers got a massive win on Friday night, but face a tough test today against a rested Celtics team playing in front of their raucous home crowd.

Game Information

Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

When: 12:30 PM PT

How to Watch: KTLA, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – John Collins – Ivica Zubac

Celtics: Payton Pritchard – Derrick White – Jordan Walsh – Jaylen Brown – Neemias Queta

Injuries

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Ankle), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)

Celtics: Jayson Tatum Out (Achilles)

The Big Picture

The Clippers finally got a win on Friday night, breaking a six-game losing streak in epic fashion in a double-overtime win over the Mavericks. It was the kind of win that could be season-changing, much like the Pistons win was last season. The Clippers certainly didn’t play great for much of the night, but they got terrific performances from James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the effort level was consistently better than it was a few weeks ago. Hopefully that kind of victory will help put some spirit back into these Clippers and help get the season back on track.

The Antagonist

The Celtics are having an odd season. They rank 7^th in defensive rating, 10^th in offensive rating, and 8^th in overall net rating – yet are just 6-7 in terms of actual wins and losses. That they are performing relatively well despite abysmal shooting (33.5% as a team, with Pritchard and White both under 30% on high volume) is even more impressive. The Celtics are having a season that is almost an inverse to the Clippers: they lost a ton of talent this summer, came into the season with questionable depth, and are receiving at least “competent” level performances from nearly everyone on the roster. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez, unheralded former Timberwolves Josh Minott and Luka Garza, previously bench-warming players like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh are all giving the Celtics solid minutes. It is a fairly remarkable team that looks way better than the sum of its parts.

Notes

Bogi Shows Up: Perhaps the single most encouraging element of the Mavs win was the play of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting (5-8 from three) and dished three assists to just one turnover in 37 minutes. The shooting was huge, and while he’s not a traditional ballhandler, he was able to bring the ball up the court enough to alleviate some of the pressure on Harden. Yes, the defense was pretty ugly at times, but the Clippers desperately need shooting, playmaking, and handling from someone outside of Harden, and Bogi is a guy who theoretically provides those elements. Him actually performing to that level in a big game was great to see. With Beal out for the season, Bogi really does have to play in the rotation – the real question is whether he should start, at least until Kawhi returns. The defense will be rough on some nights, but if Bogi can consistently provide even 80% of what he did on Friday night, it will be a godsend.

Defending the Three-Ball: The Celtics take the second-most threes in the NBA at 44.8 per game. Even though they have not been making those threes at a high clip this year, they have good shooters whose percentages will improve sooner or later. The Clippers, meanwhile, have been one of the very worst teams at defending the three-point line so far this season. If they allow the Celtics to get going from deep, this could be a long game for the good guys. It’s imperative for the Clippers to really defend the three-point line, running the Celtics off the arc and funneling them towards Ivica Zubac at the rim or into low-efficiency mid-range jumpers.

Clippers vs Celtics Preview: Keeping the Good Vibes Going
Robert Flom

The Clippers need to shake off their disappointing loss to the Bulls quickly, as tonight they take on one of the very best teams in the NBA, the Celtics, while playing quite shorthanded.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Celtics: Derrick White – Jrue Holiday – Jaylen Brown – Jayson Tatum – Kristaps Porzingis

Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Mo Bamba

Injuries

Celtics: Drew Peterson Doubtful (Concussion)

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee management), Ivica Zubac Out (Eye), James Harden Questionable (Groin), Kris Dunn Questionable (Knee), Nic Batum Questionable (Finger), Norm Powell Questionable (Back), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team)

The Big Picture

The Clippers’ loss to the Bulls on Monday was one of the more frustrating of the year. On one hand, they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back and didn’t have the services of Kawhi Leonard or Ivica Zubac. On the other, they were at home playing a thoroughly mediocre Bulls team without multiple key players of their own that was also on the second night of a back-to-back. And not only did the Clippers lose, but the game wasn’t really even in question the last 18 minutes or so, as the Clippers could not get the game to single digits. There were issues with Ty Lue’s rotations, James Harden was awful, and nobody could hit a shot. Aside from that, things were rosy! It was just a single game, but it was a dreadful, miserable game to watch and dampened the spirits of the four-game win streak. Hopefully the Clippers show up in a much better way tonight.

The Antagonist

The narrative around the Celtics in recent weeks is that they are having a disappointing season. They have had a couple rough patches, but right now they have a 30-13 record, putting them on pace for close to 60 wins. Their Net Rating backs up their raw record, with their plus 9.7 Net Rating putting them squarely in “title contender” territory and just a hair behind the East-leading Cavaliers. On top of that, the Celtics are the only team in the NBA that is top-five on both offense (3^rd) and defense (5^th), though the Thunder and Grizzlies aren’t far off. Multiple Celtics (Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday) are having down seasons and others (Kristaps Porzingis) can’t seem to get healthy, but Jayson Tatum is one of the 10 best players in the NBA and the Celtics’ depth has mostly held up quite well. They aren’t unbeatable with their three-point shooting dip from last year, but they are still one of the three best teams in the league.

Notes

A Big Test for Kawhi: Kawhi Leonard has played in five games so far this season, and none of them has been against a team close to as good as the Celtics. The best of the teams he’s faced is the Timberwolves, and it’s perhaps not a surprise that game was his worst performance. The Celtics are an excellent team that can test Kawhi on both ends and have multiple players that can credibly stick with him on defense. I would suspect his minutes limit remains in the 24-minute range, but maybe he gets pushed up another couple minutes. Regardless, I’m very interested to see how he looks in this one. If he has a game similar to the caliber of his Nets and Lakers performances, my eyebrows will be raised, for sure. EDIT: Well, Kawhi is out, so all of this point is moot for this game – but long-term I stand by it.

Going Small: Look, there have been years where Ty Lue’s propensity to go small has driven me insane. But this season would not be one of them. Mo Bamba’s box score from the Bulls game looks ok, but it’s a great example of how box scores do not capture impact or level of play. Put simply, Bamba is a third center. If you need to roll him out for a few minutes he will probably not mess anything up too badly. And he’s fine against the dregs of the league (Nets, Blazers, etc.) But he’s just not a rotation-level player against even competent teams. If Zu is out again, he has to play, but I’d start small with Nic Batum at center and keep Bamba to the 12-14 minute range and against bench units. Nico can’t play 36 minutes as small-ball center, so I’d try other units with Kawhi at center (Edit, with Kawhi out I’d say Kobe Brown even) alongside Derrick Jones Jr. and Terance Mann or Kris Dunn at small forward to add more defense and rebounding. Anything but extensive Mo Bamba minutes in key moments.

Clippers vs. Celtics Preview: Trying to Test the Best
Robert Flom

The Clippers come into Boston on a five-game winning streak to face their toughest opponent of the season thus far, the defending champion, 15-3 Celtics.

Game Information

Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

When: 4:30 PM PT

How to Watch: KTLA, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Amir Coffey – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac

Celtics: Derrick White – Jrue Holiday – Jaylen Brown – Jason Tatum – Xavier Tillman

Injuries

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Norm Powell Doubtful (Hamstring), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)

Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis Doubtful (Foot), Luke Kornet Doubtful (Hamstring), Al Horford Questionable (Rest)

The Antagonist

If the Celtics aren’t the best team in the league, they’re right up there. Sitting pretty at 15-3, the Celtics are top three in Net Rating alongside the Thunder and Cavaliers with top 10 units on both sides of the ball. The Celtics’ depth is not the best, but they make up for that with an exceptional starting unit that just blows most competition away and can be staggered in various combinations to prop up bench units. That they are doing all this without starting center Kristaps Porzingis is even more impressive – their perimeter defense and shooting are good enough that they can do without his rim protection and plus shooting. The Celtics are not afraid of anyone and are nearly unbeatable at home. Losing to them on the road on the second night of a back-to-back is more or less expected (though the Celtics also played last night). Schedule wise, this might well be the toughest game on the Clippers’ calendar all season.

Notes

The Defensive Assignments: What’s tough about the Celtics is they start four perimeter players you really have to guard. That means there is no soft hiding spot for James Harden, though I expect they will “stash” him on Jrue Holiday, who at this point of his career is definitely the worst offensive player between him, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. I’d guess Coffey is on White, with Dunn and DJJ on the Celtics’ star wings. Normally Dunn gets the best offensive player on the other team, which is Tatum, but I’m sure the Clippers will be switching like crazy anyway. The key for the Clippers will be to limit the Celtics’ three pointers as much as possible and funnel them into Ivica Zubac at the rim. It will be a huge test for the Clippers, who have demonstrated their mettle time and again on defense this year but have not faced anything like the Celtics’ buzzsaw.

Keeping Harden Going: The Clippers got James Harden’s most efficient scoring game of the season last night, as he scored 23 points on just 10 shots in the rout of the Sixers. The Celtics are a much different story. They are long, physical, and love to pressure opposing ballhandlers – all things that can fluster Harden. The fact that the Celtics have so many plus defenders also means it will be difficult for the ancillary Clippers to cook, putting a lot on Harden’s shoulders. If he’s able to get to his usual 20 and 9, even if it’s inefficient, the Clippers might have a chance to win. If he underperforms that by a significant margin, they are probably going to get blown out.

Clippers vs Celtics Preview: Taking on the Champs
Robert Flom

The Clippers went into Boston, faced off against the 20-1 at home Celtics, and took away their lucky charms, winning 115-96 in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score.

Summary

The less said about the first quarter, the better. Both teams, two of the top four offenses in the NBA, could not buy buckets or get consistently open looks. The only player on either side who could score was Kawhi Leonard, who had 12 points on 5-6 shooting. Still, despite Kawhi’s efforts, the Clippers led just 26-21 after one due to the rest of the team’s poor shooting. Of course, while the Celtics were missing some good looks, it must be said the Clippers’ defense played well.

The Clippers bench unit with Harden hung even with the Celtics early. After a couple minutes, Mann returned for Russ and the Clippers poured it on, with their defense leading to easy buckets in transition. At the 5:58 mark, the Clippers had expanded their lead all the way to 43-30. At this point the starters for both teams returned. Fortunately for the Clippers, the tenor of the game remained the same. While the Clippers shot a horrid 5-21 from deep in the first half, the Celtics were an even worse 4-23. And the difference lay with Porzingis out, as the Clippers shot better from two and got to the line more than the Celtics. Both teams had only four turnovers, but the Clippers superior execution and stifling defense had them up 55-39 at halftime.

Jayson Tatum came out aggressive to start the half, scoring seven quick points against the Clippers’ three to get the lead down to 12, 58-46. At this point, the Clippers’ defense locked in like I’ve maybe never seen it before. They were on a string, switching and rotating and helping as needed, consistently forcing the Celtics into turnovers or bad shots. They were disciplined in not fouling and going straight up. And they were smart in pushing the pace the other way. The Celtics could not score, and the Clippers could, and the lead grew, and grew, and grew, until finally, the Clippers were up 76-46 with 4:54 to go in the quarter in front of a stunned Boston crowd. The Clippers’ bench finally started trickling in, and while the Celtics were able to score a few points, the Clippers maintained a 30 point lead largely through the efforts of Kawhi Leonard. The lead grew to 36 before a brief Celtics spurt cut it to 31 after three.

The Clippers still had their regulars out to start the 4^th, but that only lasted 90 seconds, as a couple of steals led to easy baskets and a 35-point edge. It was garbage time from there, and that garbage time was ugly, but it never quite got to the point that the Clippers had to put any of their key player back in. Lets just forget that last 10 minutes never happened and only remember the first 38.

Notes

Kawhi Dominates: Kawhi’s box score – 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks in 29 minutes – is very good but not insane. However, that belies his performance, which was masterful. He was absolutely everywhere on defense, and was the lynchpin in the Clippers’ incredible defensive showing. On offense, he was patient and didn’t force shots, instead attacking ripe mismatches like the smaller Holiday and White (as good as they are, they just can’t bother Kawhi). He was clearly, obviously the best player against a Celtics team with Tatum (perennial All-NBA), Jaylen Brown (All-Star), and Jrue Holiday (All-Defense). When he’s playing like this, almost anything is possible for the Clippers.

Theis Revenge Game: Daniel Theis has been excellent for the Clippers, especially considering he was a buyout guy. And, against his longtime former team, he stood out, scoring 18 points on 8-9 shooting, grabbing 7 boards in 26 minutes, and playing fantastic defense at the rim. Its hard to think the Clippers had to play Moses Brown real minutes last year – I wish I could forget, but the memories are seared into my brain. Competent backup big men minutes are so important, and having not just Theis but also Mason Plumlee (also solid in this one) has been massive for the Clippers. Fantastic performance by the German veteran.

Harden in Control: This was not a great James Harden game. He was 2-11 from the field and 0-6 from three, scoring just nine points in 27 minutes. It was, however, a totally acceptable game from him in a Clippers jersey, as he contributed on the glass with eight rebounds and dished nine assists to just a single turnover. The Clippers’ offense nearly always runs smoothly with Harden at the helm even if he isn’t having an individually great game, and that says everything about his brilliant playmaking and his fit on this roster. His lob to Terance in the 3^rd quarter was the capstone on the Clippers’ huge run and just a glorious bit of basketball.

Standings Watch: The Nuggets beat the Sixers and the Thunder and Suns didn’t play today, but almost everything else went the Clippers’ way standing wise. The Kings toppled the Mavs, the Nets beat Houston, the Bucks smashed the Pelicans, and, most importantly, the Spurs defeated the Wolves, pushing the Clippers into being even with the Wolves in the loss column. The Clippers continue to edge closer to the top of the West and put more distance in front of the teams behind them, and that will be key as their schedule gets more hectic the last half of the season.

Clippers Claim Best Win of Season in Boston, 115-96
Robert Flom

The Clippers, fresh off a win in Toronto last night, will have maybe their toughest game of the season tonight in Boston against the dominant Celtics.

Game Summary

Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

When: 4:00 PM PT

How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Paul George – Terance Mann – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Celtics: Derrick White – Jrue Holiday – Jaylen Brown – Jayson Tatum – Al Horford

Injuries

Clippers: Paul George Probable (Groin), Ivica Zubac Out (Calf), Moussa Diabate Out (Hand), Jordan Miller Doubtful (Achilles)

Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis Doubtful (Ankle)

The Big Picture

The Clippers have worked their way into a virtual tie for 3^rd in the Western Conference with the Nuggets. They are still just a single loss back of the first-seeded Thunder and Wolves. They’ve not just stayed afloat with starting center and defensive anchor Ivica Zubac out, but have made up ground. They are continuing to receive consistently positive performances from nearly every rotation player on the roster, with star showings nightly from Kawhi, Paul George, and James Harden. It’s a fun, winning group that has taken care of business against bad teams and also gotten some tough wins against good teams. How they perform on this lengthy road trip against a mix of some of the best and worst teams in the NBA will be telling.

The Antagonist

The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the NBA almost the entire season. Their 35-10 record is three games ahead of the second-best squad, the OKC Thunder. Their 10.2 Net Rating is the best in the NBA by far (Thunder is next with 8.7), with the second-best Offensive Rating (behind only the Pacers) and second-best defense (behind the Wolves). The Sixers are the only other team with a top-five placement on both offense and defense, and they’re fifth in both. Jayson Tatum is an All-Star Starter and Jaylen Brown will make the All-Star Game as a reserve – yet I’d argue he’s the 4^th best player on the team behind Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis! The Celtics’ top six is the best in the NBA. Their depth is shaky, but has been good enough in the regular season. The Celtics are also an insane 20-1 at home. This might be the toughest game of the year for the Clippers.

Notes

Take Advantage of KP’s Likely Absence: Kristaps Porzingis has been the second or third most important Celtic this season. His rim protection has been key to their defense and his high-volume, deep three-point shooting stretches the floor for their perimeter players. Al Horford remains very good, but he’s not a high-minutes player at this point, which means the Clippers will see a good amount of Luke Kornet or Neemias Queta at center for the Celtics. Those guys are fine role players, but they are not Porzingis or Horford. The Clippers need to attack the rim consistently in this one, especially when Horford isn’t on the court for the Celtics. On defense, without Porzingis stretching the court, they can play a bit more conservatively in drop and try to force Brown and Tatum into long twos.

Taking the Challenge Defensively: The Celtics’ top two offensive options are both wings. The Clippers’ top two scorers are wings. It will be interesting to see how much the two star wing duos guard each other and how much they try to conserve energy by having other players on them. The Celtics have Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, who are awesome defensively, but a bit undersized, to throw at PG and Kawhi. The Clippers can put Terance Mann, Russell Westbrook, and Amir Coffey on the Tatum and Brown combo. However, I’d love to see Kawhi take on Tatum, at least in the second half, and PG on Brown. This is what high-stakes NBA games are about, and while this is an inter-conference game in January, I’m expecting intensity and a playoff level environment. Hopefully the game lives up to it.

Clippers vs Celtics Preview: A Showdown in Boston
Robert Flom

The Clippers will try to return to their winning ways, but face a very tough opponent in the Boston Celtics.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

When: 12:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Terance Mann – Paul George – Amir Coffey – Ivica Zubac

Celtics: Jrue Holiday – Derrick White – Jaylen Brown – Sam Hauser – Al Horford

Injury Report

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard questionable (hip), Mason Plumlee out (MCL), Moussa Diabate out (hip).

Celtics: Jayson Tatum questionable (ankle), Kristaps Porzingis out (ankle), Luke Kornet out (adductor), Svi Mykhailiuk questionable (heel).

The Big Picture

The LA Clippers return home after a mini road trip and as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder notwithstanding.

This team has found its rhythm and Kawhi Leonard is playing some of the best basketball he’s played in a Clippers jersey. He’s legitimately entered the MVP conversation as the Clippers have climbed the standings in the Western Conference.

He is questionable though against the Boston Celtics after sitting out the Thunder game due to a hip injury.

James Harden has found his stride as well and has silenced all doubters since the initial losing streak when he first joined the team.

The OKC game aside, this team is really clicking on all cylinders with strong bench play as well spearheaded by Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell.

With chemistry questions seemingly out of the way, health has always been the major factor in determining the Clippers success. The recent Leonard injury is something to monitor, but at the moment it doesn’t appear to be anything too serious.

The Antagonist

The Celtics come to town as one of the best teams in the NBA. Even without Jayson Tatum in their last game against the Sacramento Kings, they managed to grab an impressive win.

Like the Clippers, this team is also clicking. The only difference is they’ve been playing like this all season.

Tatum is questionable against the Clippers and Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out. Nevertheless, this is still a team to be reckoned with. They’re extremely well coached and disciplined and more than capable of grabbing a win despite missing key players.

This is going to be a tough one and the Clippers need to be focused and ready from the get-go. Early afternoon starts haven’t always been kind to them, and if they go down early they will be unlikely to make a comeback.

Clippers Vs. Celtics Game Preview
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers were outplayed in Boston by the Celtics on Thursday night during their 116-110 loss. Keep reading for a full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Celtics.

RECAP

Offensive production was hard to come by in the early going for the Clippers, as turnovers and bricked jumpers held them back at the onset. Only Kawhi Leonard seemed to have a clue of how to deal with the Celtics’ switchy defense that kept the Clippers mainly on the perimeter. All the while, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown dominated the first half in a way that suggested they were ready to avenge what had happened in Los Angeles on December 12.

Norman Powell, who didn’t participate in the first matchup between championship hopefuls, eventually joined Leonard to combine for more than half (27) of L.A.’s 49 points through 24 minutes of gameplay. However, the Clippers still went into the half with an 11-point deficit.

A new game plan was assembled at the break, and much of it included playing through Leonard. He hunted mismatches, abused the smaller defenders the few times doubles weren’t sent and picked apart the defense with his passing when he’d created enough defensive attention. The result was everything that Clippers basketball should look like on the offensive end under Ty Lue — catch-and-shoot jumpers and playing smartly through elite individual talents — and the Clippers took an 85-84 lead into the fourth.

But after playing the entire third quarter, Leonard headed to the bench for some rest. From there, L.A.’s lead disappeared thanks to Boston’s offense cranking it up a notch. Jaylen Brown was responsible for the Celtics’ comeback, and with Luke Kennard mostly as his primary defender, Brown punished the ill-equipped defender by repeatedly working his way past or through Kennard en route to the rim where the Clippers’ small ball unit lacked a rim deterrent.

The script had flipped when reinforcements made their way back in. Boston controlled the tempo and momentum, and the Clippers began running out of time. L.A. was able to trim a 10-point deficit to three with a chance to tie the game potentially, but Paul George was met at the rim by Derrick White, thus putting the final nail in the Clippers’ coffin.

A free-throw game ensued as the clock dwindled, and the Clippers left TD Garden with a 116-110 loss.

THE GOOD

Halfcourt Offense:

For most of the first half, the Clippers’ offense looked like the lifeless one that took the floor early this season. Turnovers plagued them to begin the game, and the Celtics’ ability to utilize switchable defenders kept the Clippers out of the interior and limited them to mostly jump shots, which they missed repeatedly. But the looks progressively became more open towards the tail-end of the second quarter and the Clippers began to find the bottom of the net. And by the time the third quarter rolled around, L.A. had diagrammed its plan of action, which included attacking Derrick White at every available chance. When he stayed singled up, Clippers players scored over him, and when he required assistance, they found the open man along the perimeter for three.

Although they put themselves behind the 8-ball early, it was encouraging to see adjustments made to combat how the Celtics’ defense was playing and to create better offensive opportunities. Even better, the process of playing through Kawhi Leonard was a good one — good to practice those habits, and good to know that Leonard is still an elite game-changer even post-ACL injury.

THE BAD

Rotations:
It’s tough to be too hard on Ty Lue, given all of the injuries, load management, and minutes restrictions he’s had to deal with throughout the first half of the season. With that said, there have been more than a few questionable rotation decisions that may have cost the Clippers some games.  Obviously, the decision to not play Robert Covington is the strangest one, and one that deserves a ton of criticism. Tonight’s issue was him going away from Ivica Zubac during the fourth quarter. 

Zu wasn’t perfect (his lack of footspeed failed him several times when trying to get out on the perimeter and defend the pick and roll), but he was otherwise really good. Also, really important. The Celtics were, figuratively, foaming at the mouth each time Zubac was off the floor. They made it a point of emphasis to attack the paint whenever possible, which is what ultimately cost the Clippers in the final frame.

For what it’s worth, Zu wasn’t the only one squeezed out of playing time. Terance Mann played just five minutes and, of course, Robert Covington received a healthy DNP — all signs that Lue values the offensive production of some guys more than the defense and rebounding of others. Nevertheless, the Clippers still have lots to work out rotation-wise that might not be settled without a trade.

Clippers vs. Celtics Recap: Outdueled in Boston.
Cole Huff

The Clippers gained their best victory of the season in a near wire-to-wire rout of the Celtics, featuring an unstoppable Kawhi Leonard.

Summary

The Clippers started off the game playing some of the best offensive basketball they’ve played all season. They moved the ball quickly and smartly, made swift decisions, and attacked the basket against Blake Griffin’s non-existent rim protection. Unfortunately, the defensive side of the ball was less sound, and the Clips gave up a ton of wide open shots to the Celts, who fortunately missed a good chunk of them. As the benches came in, the Celtics truly froze up, and while the Clippers’ offense slowed too, they were able to bring their lead up to 12. At hat point, Ty Lue went very small with Batum at center alongside Wall, Luke, Mann, and PG (back for Kawhi), and the Celtics immediately cut the lead to four going into the end of the quarter.

The Celtics continued to push, swiftly gaining a small lead. However, the Clippers fought back, keyed by great energy, defense, and rebounding by Nic Batum and Terance Mann, and took the lead once more. The Clippers’ starter held onto a narrow advantage, but were not able to advance it much, as both teams struggled with shooting the ball and some turnovers. However, the Clippers were finally able to gain a tad bit more separation late in the period with some Kawhi buckets, and led by seven at halftime.

The Clippers’ stars roared after halftime, with both Kawhi and PG nailing a three and a two in the first couple minutes to only scant Celtics answers, resulting in a 16 point lead and a Celts timeout. The Celtics played better defense after the break, but could not narrow the lead much, as the Clippers answered every bucket. After Zu picked up his 5^th foul the Clippers went small, and the Celtics finally got going offensively, getting the lead down to 11. However, with both PG and Kawhi out, the Clippers went on a 7-0 run, with the swing play being a Mann block on Tatum that led to a Luke three. The Clippers led by 16 going into the 4^th and had all the momentum.

The Clippers continued to go star-less for 90 seconds, but some disorganized offense brought PG back into the gam for Reggie. Jaylen Brown and Grant Williams kept the Celtics hanging around, but the Clippers pushed again when Kawhi Leonard came back into the game, and the Celtics had no answer. In a blink, the Clippers were up 24 with 7 minutes to go, and the game seemed effectively over. The Celtics went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes, forcing a Ty Lue timeout with the barest chance for a comeback still alive. The Clippers answered with a Mann three, the Celtics missed their next couple looks, and the game went into garbage time at the 3:30 mark and the Clips up 20.

Notes

Kawhi and PG Staggering: Ty Lue has mostly opted to keep Paul George and Kawhi Leonard together this season. In the first quarter, the Clippers’ broadcast even said that Kawhi has played 150 of his 177 minutes with PG. That changed a bit in this one, as PG was brough out early in the first (6 min mark) for Luke Kennard, and then came back in at the 2 min mark for PG. Thus, one of PG or Kawhi was on the court at all times. This, in conjunction with a shortened nine-man rotation, did mean that George played 20 of 24 minutes, which is entirely too much, but I do like the staggering, as that’s how the Clippers will need to go when the games really matter. And the stars lived up to it, as Kawhi had by far his best game of the season with 25 points on 10-12 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in 29 minutes and Paul George played great as well with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. They thoroughly outplayed the Celtics’ star duo of Tatum and Brown, and that was the deciding factor in the game.

Small Ball Works: The Clippers, as mentioned above, went with a nine-man rotation, and didn’t play Robert Covington, Moses Brown, or Moussa Diabate (at least until garbage time), meaning they went small with their second unit. Not only that, but due to Zu’s foul trouble, he played only 17 minutes, so the Clippers were small for over half of the game. It worked tonight, against a Celtics’ team down their two best centers (and oh boy Blake Griffin was awful in this one), but I hope Ty Lue doesn’t take the wrong message and play very small three-guard lineups too frequently. They’re probably better against most teams than playing Moses Brown at all, so it’s a wash there, but it will be interesting to see who leaves the rotation when Norm Powell returns.

Nico & Mann, Great Again: The Clippers’ bench was effective mostly because of the efforts of Mann and Batum, who played excellent defense and contributed seven rebounds apiece while making 6-11 shots. Nic Batum has been magnificent all season, Mann has for most of it, and it’s clear that the Clippers need both guys on the court for significant minutes to keep their defense effective, and to act as connectors on offense.

Clippers Smash Celtics 113-93 in Best Win of Season
Robert Flom

The Clippers are still a bit wobbly, and will have maybe their stiffest test of the year so far against the Boston Celtics, who have the NBA’s best record.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: NBA TV, Bally Sports SoCal

Projected Starting Lineups

Celtics: Marcus Smart – Jaylen Brown – Jayson Tatum – Grant Williams – Blake Griffin

Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Celtics: Robert Williams Out (Knee), Al Horford Out (Personal), Danilo Gallinari Out (Knee)

Clippers: Norman Powell Out (Groin), Moussa Diabate Out (G-League)

The Big Picture

The Clippers course corrected a bit Saturday with a nice come-from-behind win against the Wizards, powered by a massive game from Paul George. Still, the Wizards are playing terribly and without their best player, so the challenge wasn’t all that great. With more than a third of the season officially over, the Clips continue to remain just over the .500 mark and towards the bottom of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. However, things are shaping up at least a bit, as the only player currently injured is Norm Powell, and he should be back soon. If the Clippers can sustain decent health for even a few weeks, they could start to build real momentum and cohesion, regardless of their record.

The Antagonist

The Celtics are the best team in the NBA. They boast a 21-6 record, a staggering figure that is backed up by advanced stats, as the Celtics’ Net Rating of 8.2 leads the league by a vast margin. Their play is centered on a league-best offense, which is healthily the strongest in the NBA, though their defense is top 10 as well. Jayson Tatum was 6^th in MVP voting and made All-NBA 1^st Team last season, but has taken yet another leap. Tatum’s numbers are up almost across the board, and his combination of scoring (30 points per game), rebounding (8 per game) for a team lacking their starting center (making the Celts’ success more impressive), and defense makes Tatum perhaps the most well-rounded player in the NBA. Malcolm Brogdon has fit in like a glove, Jaylen Brown is a great second scorer, Marcus Smart is having his most efficient and best playmaking season in his career, and just about every Celtics rotation player is contributing positively to the team. They are formidable, and certainly up there with the Bucks as co-title favorites.

Notes

Kawhi & PG vs Tatum and Brown: The Celtics duo of Tatum and Brown have long been comped to the Clippers’ combo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. While Tatum is the Kawhi role as the best player, he plays more like George, while Brown has a bit more of Kawhi stylistically. While Clippers’ fans have long scoffed at claims that the Celtics’ stars are the better combo, this year it’s not close. I’d still take George over Brown (better shooting, playmaking, and defense) but the gap has narrowed, and Tatum has been much better than the still-recovering Leonard. Whether he’s better than a fully healthy and rust-free Kawhi is a question, but at this point we don’t know how good Kawhi will ever be again, and Tatum is so good that he has to be in a different tier now. If the Clippers’ stars can come close to matching the Celtics’ younger duo, the Clippers should be in a strong spot to win.

Attacking the Rim: Not only is the Celtics’ starting center out, but his replacement Al Horford is as well. Blake Griffin is the next man up, though the Celtics will also use Luke Kornet and go small with Grant Williams at center. Kornet is a shot-blocker, but the Clippers should be able to attack him in space and on switches. Grant is stout in those regards yet doesn’t offer rim protection. Blake knows where to be and takes charges, but that’s about it. In short, the Clippers should be able to go to the rim in this game, and must continue attacking the paint rather than settling for jumpers against the Celtics’ phenomenal and lengthy perimeter defenders.

Clippers vs Celtics Preview: Facing the NBA’s Best
Robert Flom

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.

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Ralston Dacanay