The Clippers are closing in on the end of the regular season, and with how tight the standings are in the Western Conference, every game is imperative.

Game Information

Where: Golden One Center, Sacramento, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Kings: Keon Ellis – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan – Trey Lyles – Domantas Sabonis

Injuries

Clippers: Ivica Zubac Questionable (Ankle), Norm Powell Questionable (Shoulder), Nic Batum Out (Groin), Amir Coffey Out (Hamstring), Patty Mills Out (Illness), Seth Lundy Out (Two-way)

Kings: Malik Monk Out (Calf), Keegan Murray Questionable (Back), Jake Laravia Questionable (Thumb)

The Big Picture

The Clippers didn’t play great in their wins over the Spurs and Rockets, but did enough to win rather comfortably in both contests. Importantly, their best players have continued to shine, with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac all turning in stellar performances. Injuries loom, with Nic Batum and Norm Powell both dealing with minor touch-ups, but the Clippers do not seem worried – so we shouldn’t be either. If the Clippers continue to play like they have been, and their key players stay healthy, they are looking every bit like a team that could win at least one round in the playoffs.

The Antagonist

Despite another disappointing season, the Kings are just one win or one Mavs loss away from clinching the 9 seed. They remain dangerous on a night-to-night basis due to the sheer offensive firepower on their roster with DeRozan, LaVine, and Sabonis, but injuries and a lack of defense have kept them from being more than just a mediocre team as a whole. After being an excellent home team for a couple of years, they’ve also been rather bad at home, with a 19-20 record in Sacramento. In short, the Kings are not a team to take easily but also one the Clippers should be able to beat if they are playing at their best.

Notes

Attacking the Paint: The Kings’ defense is not very good, and it will be even worse if Murray and Laravia are out. Without stout perimeter defenders, the Clippers should be able to drive to the rim relatively frequently, and should not have much fear of Sabonis when they get there. The key for the Clippers will be to continue attacking and to not settle for jump shots. It’s something they’ve been good about recently, especially with Kawhi Leonard looking more like himself, and tired legs and the end of a long, long season can’t prevent them from doing what’s made them so successful the past month. I’d like to see the continued ball movement and activity on defense that helped put the Rockets away in the second half on Wednesday in this one.

Standings Watch: There’s a lot going on in the NBA, as always, but Clippers’ fans should be keeping their eyes on three games: Grizzlies-Nuggets, Warriors-Blazers, and Rockets-Lakers. The Grizz and Nuggets game is really a win-win for the Clippers, but it’s probably better if Memphis wins. Clippers’ fans should unabashedly root for the Blazers and Rockets to take out their Pacific Division rivals, helping keep the Clippers above the play-in and in the hunt for the 3 seed respectively.

Clippers vs Kings Preview: Second-to-Last Game
Robert Flom

The Clippers have won two games in a row in the friendly confines of Intuit Dome, and now square off against the team directly behind them in the standings, the Sacramento Kings.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 6:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Kings: Keon Ellis – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan – Keegan Murray – Jonas Valanciunas

Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – Nic Batum – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Kings: Domantas Sabonis Out (Hamstring), Malik Monk Doubtful (Toe)

Clippers: Norm Powell Out (Hamstring), Ben Simmons Out (Knee)

The Big Picture

The Clippers have somewhat put themselves back together, with successive strong wins at home against the Pistons and Knicks. They have been able to separate themselves a bit from the teams still trying to get into the play-in race, as they are now back up to 7 games up on the Spurs, 6.5 up on the Blazers, and 5 up on the Suns. They’re also 2.5 games (and three losses) ahead of the 10^th seed Mavericks, who are dealing with a million injuries. Unfortunately, the teams ahead of them in the standings keep winning, and the Clippers are now way too far behind the Nuggets and Lakers (7 games) to make catching them at all realistic. The Grizzlies and Rockets are 5 and 4 games ahead of the Clippers, so the Clippers catching those teams is not quite impossible but quite unlikely. That puts the realistic ceiling on the Clippers at 6^th, with a floor of 11^th. One of their main foes for postseason seeding in that play-in range is….

The Antagonist

The Kings are 5-2 since the All-Star Break and 8-3 in the past month despite dealing away homegrown star De’Aaron Fox and facing some injuries. That both goes to show the Kings’ depth as well as Fox being quite overrated in this writer’s opinion. The Kings still have a lot of talent, even with Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk being out – DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are always threats to cook, Valanciunas is a capable starter at center, and Murray and Ellis are competent starting-level role players. Other additions like Jake LaRavia and Markelle Fultz have helped fill minutes as well, giving new coach Doug Christie a true rotation to work with. The Kings are up to 7^th in offensive rating while placing solidly at 15^th on defense – they are just a good team. At the end of the day, the Kings aren’t going anywhere, even if they lack the high-end upside of some of the other teams in the play-in range.

Notes

New Starting Unit: The Clippers have had quite a few different starting lineups this season around the two cornerstones of James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Norman Powell has missed quite a few games, Kawhi Leonard missed the first half of the season and still isn’t playing back-to-backs, and Ty Lue has cycled through a number of guys both to replace those two as well as to serve as the 5^th starter. Friday against the Knicks brought yet another starting unit, as Ty brought in Nic Batum at power forward alongside Harden, Leonard, Zubac, and the seemingly (?) penciled in Kris Dunn. We will see if Ty continues with that starting unit (which I thought was excellent) or if Nico starting was just due to the Knicks’ size on the perimeter. Nic Batum has to play more when the Clippers are serious, and the easiest way to do that is to start him. I don’t love bringing both Bogdan Bogdanovic and Amir Coffey off the bench, but the presence of Derrick Jones Jr. and one of Zu, Dunn, Kawhi, or Nico should be enough to bolster those units on defense. Call me intrigued.

Big Game: The Clippers are a half-game ahead of the Kings, meaning a Clippers’ win would go quite a way towards giving them an edge over Sacramento in the standings. The difference between 8^th and 9^th in the play-in is significant, with the 8^th seed only needing to win one game to make the playoffs, and with a chance to get the 7^th seed (and therefore, an easier opponent than the Thunder). It would be nice if the Clippers could climb all the way into the playoffs proper at 6^th, but solidifying their spot in at least the upper half of the play-in would be great. This is one of the biggest games of the entire season for each team, and I’d therefore expect to see both teams employ playoff-type rotations.

The Clippers vs Kings Preview: Biggest Game of the Season So Far
Robert Flom

The Clippers will try to push their winning streak to four games as well as notch their first victory in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament this season.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

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

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Kevin Huerter – DeMar DeRozan – Keegan Murray – Domantas Sabonis

Injuries

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

Kings: DeMar DeRozan Probable (Back), Domantas Sabonis Questionable (Back), Malik Monk Questionable (Ankle)

The Big Picture

The Clippers just keep finding ways to win games, as they are now on another three-game winning streak that has put them back two games over .500. As has been the case most of the season, the Clippers’ defense has been their calling card, with stifling victories over the Warriors (impressive), Jazz (not so impressive), and Magic (a good win but the Magic’s offense is bad) showing their prowess. The Clippers beating the Magic without leading scorer Norm Powell was even more impressive, with Amir Coffey and Jordan Miller stepping up behind him as the replacement shooting guards to great effect. It certainly hasn’t been pretty most of the year, but the Clippers’ energy, effort, and fight have rarely been a question, which is nice to see after the 213 era.

The Antagonist

Unsurprisingly, the Kings have the 6^th best offense in the NBA. They are an offensively tilted team, with their three best players – Sabonis, Fox, and DeRozan – all being significantly better offensive players than defensive. DeRozan and Sabonis have been banged up recently, but both were participants in practice yesterday and seem more likely than not to play. With those guys out, Fox has exploded, reaching 60 points in one game and clearing 40 in another, all on great efficiency. They are still working the chemistry out, but the sheer talent is a lot to deal with on offense. The Kings’ defense is not as good, but ranked at 16^th, isn’t bad either. The Kings are just a solid team, and while they’re not as dangerous away from their awesome crowd in Sacramento, they have a lot of players who can quiet opposing crowds.

Notes

Mo’s Impact: Mo Bamba maybe hasn’t been great in his first three games as a Clipper, but what he has been is a hell of a lot better than Kai Jones. Per 36 minutes, Bamba is averaging 18.5 points and 13.6 rebounds, while Jones is at 9.4 and 8.6 respectively. That’s simply a massive gap in production, and the statistical gap is borne out by the eye test. Bamba is not a basketball savant, but he does know where to be on the court and can do basic things like set screens and box-out. Jones is simply not there yet, and considering he turns 24 in January, he might never get there. There’s a reason the Clippers are 3-0 since Bamba has returned – he’s been a solid fit in his limited minutes.

Jordan Miller’s Downhill Driving: If there were any questions about Jordan Miller’s ability to translate his G-League, Summer League, and Preseason scoring to the NBA, they are fading away game by game. He’s logged just 46 minutes on the season, but is getting to the free throw line more per game than every Clipper but Harden, Zu, and Norm. His uncanny knack for getting downhill into the teeth of the paint has been there even when playing against real rotation players, with his mix of footwork, length, and touch working well even with a just adequate handle. If he can just start getting his outside shot to drop, that would open up even more room for his drives. We are just one game into Miller being a rotation player, but there is every indication he can be a good piece for the Clippers when the minutes really matter, and that’s exciting.

Cup Standings Watch: The Clippers are in last place in their In-Season Tournament Group, West Group A, with a 0-1 record and a -21 point differential. They need to win this one and preferably win by a significant positive margin to have any chance of advancing in the tournament. If they go to 0-2 and have a severely negative point differential they will be more or less eliminated, which would be a shame. Hopefully they can get the W here.

Clippers vs Kings Preview: The Second Cup Game
Robert Flom

The Clippers will look to continue their winning ways in Sacramento in a contest pitting one of the NBA’s best defenses against one of the NBA’s best offenses.

Game Information

Where: Golden One Center, Sacramento, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Terance Mann – Ivica Zubac

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Kevin Huerter – DeMar DeRozan – Keegan Murray – Domantas Sabonis

Injuries

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), PJ Tucker Out (Away From Team), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League)

Kings: None

The Big Picture

The Clippers have to be feeling pretty good. After dropping the first three games of their five-game homestand, the Clips won their last two, including a highly satisfying blowout victory over Paul George’s Sixers in his first game back in Los Angeles since he left this summer. Moreover, both wins corresponded to how the Clippers want to play: tough defense, aggressive transition offense, and just enough shooting to get by. The Clippers’ defense continues to prove its legitimacy; now ranked 5^th on the season, the Clippers look every part of a top-five unit on that end, with long, active perimeter defenders and a strong anchor in Ivica Zubac. The question remains on offense, where the Clippers’ halfcourt attack frequently gets bogged down, especially when James Harden is out of the game. We will see if continued reps and familiarity will result in stronger and more cohesive offensive play as the season really gets into swing.

The Antagonist

The Kings have gotten off to an excellent start this year. They are 5-3 with a fairly difficult opening schedule, but their underlying numbers suggest they’re better than that. The Kings currently sit at 6^th in the NBA in Net Rating (6.0), with the 5^th best offense (not a surprise) and the 11^th best defense (big surprise). DeMar DeRozan has fit right in next to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, giving the Kings three guys who can be offensive hubs and are also capable of playing off one another. The defense is a bit harder to square, but Mike Brown always has his guys playing hard, and Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis are both plus defenders on the perimeter. They are a tough, veteran squad with a lot of weapons and a raucous home crowd, making this one of the most challenging Clippers’ games so far this season.

Notes

The Defensive Matchups: I’ll be interested to see how the Clippers come out on defense in this one. The Kings have three excellent scorers in Fox, DeRozan, and Sabonis, and surround them with two deadeye shooters with Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray. Zu will be on Sabonis, and I’d guess Derrick Jones Jr. takes Fox while Terance Mann draws the DeRozan assignment. That leaves Norm Powell and James Harden to cover the shooters, which can be dangerous as neither player is always the most attentive off-ball. I suspect we see Norm on the quicker Huerter, with Harden on the beefier Murray. If this game is close, I think this could be yet another Kris Dunn closing situation, as he’s the clear best option on the team on both Fox and super-sixth-man Malik Monk, who frequently closes for the Kings. If the Clippers can produce another strong defensive effort in this one, it might be the most impressive notch in their belt so far.

Can Harden Get Going: James Harden has been overall quite effective for the Clippers this season due to his sheer production, but he hasn’t really had a complete offensive game to this point. While the Kings are good on defense, they don’t have a great cover for Harden. He’s too big and strong for Ellis, Fox, Monk, or Huerter, and should still have a bit of a quickness advantage on Murray. Additionally, Sabonis is not the most frightening interior presence. Maybe this can be a game where Harden is able to finish inside, and/or the first contest where his three-point shot starts falling. The Clippers’ offense will probably look much, much better on nights when Harden is truly in his scoring bag, and tonight would be a great occasion for his first outburst of the season. Hopefully it happens.

Norm Powell, Scorching: There’s being on a heater and there’s whatever Norm Powell has been on to start this season. Norm is averaging 25 points per game in 33.4 minutes while shooting 53% from the field, including 48.5% from three on 8.5 attempts per game. He won’t continue shooting at this rate from outside or inside the arc, but the Clippers need to take advantage for as long as he’s playing like this, because most of his shots aren’t even hitting rim at this point. That Norm is doing this without his usual foul-baiting being successful is all the more impressive and has made his game that much more fun to watch. Let’s see if he can continue on this ridiculous streak for another game.

Clippers vs. Kings Preview: Offense vs Defense
Robert Flom

The Clippers will wrap up their 2024-2025 preseason with a home game against the Sacramento Kings.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Clippervision, KTLA

Projected Starting Lineups

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Keon Ellis – DeMar DeRozan – Keegan Murray – Domantas Sabonis

Clippers: Kevin Porter Jr. – Amir Coffey – Terance Mann – Kobe Brown – Kai Jones

Injuries

Kings: Devin Carter Out (Shoulder), Trey Lyles Doubtful (Groin), Kevin Huerter Doubtful (Shoulder), Orlando Robinson Doubtful (Knee)

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), James Harden Out (Rest), Norm Powell Questionable (Rest), Ivica Zubac Questionable (Rest), Derrick Jones Jr. Questionable (Rest)

Notes

Who Plays: Ty Lue said before the game on Tuesday that James Harden wouldn’t play tonight, and left it an open question as to whether the Clippers’ other key rotation players would or not. In preseason I usually err on the side of guys not playing, so I think other vets like Norm and Nic Batum won’t play either, but whether Terance, DJJ, and Zubac do is a bit more questionable. Regardless, the Clippers will not be rolling out anything close to their “real” lineups, so there will be less to take away from this game than previous contests – which is not saying much. Hopefully we get some fun stuff or Ty decides to make this at least somewhat of a dress rehearsal.

Final Chances to Impress: If the Clippers don’t play their key players much, this could be a great opportunity for players on the fringes – Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, and Cam Christie most notably – to make a case for themselves. Miller has impressed in his minutes, and Kobe has been quiet but looked ok, while Cam has really not stood out much so far. One preseason game is not going to change the minds of the coaching staff, but a standout performance by any of these guys could not hurt. The same goes for Exhibit 10 players, who might be angling for two-way deals from other teams or even deals from top international teams. Every game on the big NBA stage matters.

The Bones Situation: Late in the preseason game on Tuesday, Law Murray tweeted that only four active Clippers hadn’t appeared in the game – Bones Hyland, Trentyn Flowers, Elijah Harkless, and Braxton Key. The clear outlier there is Bones, who is on a full NBA deal and who the Clippers traded two second-round picks for just 1.5 years ago. Notably, the Clippers played Alondes Williams, an Exhibit 10 player who has logged just eight NBA games in his two-year career, over Bones. I’m not sure where things went wrong for Bones in LA, but he’s clearly not part of this team’s plans, and I almost wonder if they send him home like they did with PJ Tucker. Maybe not, because a suspension for Kevin Porter Jr. is likely coming, and in that case Bones would be fairly close in line for minutes, but it wouldn’t be shocking either. I wonder if we ever get a story on what happened with Bones and this team, but things have sadly gone way south.

Clippers vs Kings 2025 Preseason Game 5 Preview
Robert Flom

The Clippers kept things close in the first half without Kawhi Leonard, but were blown out in the second, losing 109-95 to the desperate Kings.

Summary

The Clippers were extremely sloppy on offense the first few minutes of the game, but fortunately their defense was better, and the Kings could not take advantage. At the 6:57 mark, the score was just 8-5. Paul George hit two threes in the next 90 seconds to grow the Clippers’ lead, but the Kings kept answering. Amir Coffey and Brandon Boston Jr. checked in shortly after Russ, with Harden returning late for PG and Theis coming in for Zu. After one, the game was tied 24-24.

The Clippers’ second unit was abysmal. The Kings went up 4, and Norm came in for Russ. That didn’t matter. The Kings went up 9, and Mann came in for Boston. That didn’t matter. Finally, the Kings got the lead out to 16 with around 7 to go, and Zu and PG came back in. Almost immediately, the Clippers’ dormant offense woke up. A swift run got the lead down to as few as four before the Kings started scoring again, and the halftime score was 56-51 Kings with the momentum back to around even.

The third quarter is where things went downhill in a hurry. Harden looked dead tired, missing two wide open threes, and Barnes hit two the other way to quickly put the Kings up 10. Russ checked in early for Harden, btu while Russ brought energy, he also continued the Harden trend of bad turnovers. As Kings’ offensive rebounds, Clippers’ turnovers, and Kings’ open shots piled up, the game began to slip away. Ty went with a micro-ball, no center unit of Russ-Harden-BBJ-Amir-PG to end the quarter, and it was as bad as expected. After three, the Kings led 91-70 and had all the momentum.

The Clippers kept key guys out to start the 4^th, but the game was over, and the Kings went up 26. Ty gradually started throwing in the towel, though Russ remained in most of the period for conditioning along with Amir and Theis (Bones and BBJ rounded it out). For once, the Clippers’ garbage time unit played ok, but they never really made it interesting. The Kings got the easy win, and the Clippers’ three-game losing streak was mercilessly ended.

Notes

Norm, Zu Only Bright Spots: I’ll just quickly run down the whole Clippers’ roster here, but Norm (17 points on 4-7 shooting) and Zu (10 points albeit on miserable 5-14 from the field with 11 rebounds and solid defense) were the only Clippers who really had even decent games. PG was fine, but far, far too quiet in a game Kawhi didn’t play. Same with Terance. Russ scored a lot, but a lot of that was in garbage time and his decision-making and defense was awful. Amir and Theis both barely did anything. And Brandon Boston scored some in garbage time as well, but was bad on defense and missed several open looks when the Clippers were still competitive. That leaves Harden, who was absolutely dreadful with 6 points on 1-7 shooting and 5 turnovers. The Kings double teamed him to take away his scoring, and he couldn’t make them pay (nor, to be fair, could his teammates). Without Kawhi the Clippers needed scoring from Harden and he simply could not provide it.

Clippers vs Kings Recap: Winning Streak Ended
Robert Flom

The Clippers have won three games in a row, but will now face a tougher test against a potent and desperate Kings team.

Game Information

Where: Golden One Center, Sacramento, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: KTLA, AM 570

Tickets: For great deals on Clippers tickets, check out Barry’s Tickets!

Projected Starting Lineups

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

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Keon Ellis – Keegan Murray – Harrison Barnes – Domantas Sabonis

Injuries

Clippers: None

Kings: Kevin Huerter Out (Shoulder), Malik Monk Out (Knee)

The Big Picture

The Clippers have won three games in a row for the first time in almost two months, since the end of the Grammy road trip in early February to be precise. Their recent wins were not against the hardest competition nor the cleanest of victories, but wins are wins, and three Ws in a row is a nice stretch regardless of opposition. The Clippers won largely through defense against the Sixers and Magic before turning on the offense (but losing the defense) against the Hornets. The question now is if the Clippers can get consistently good on both sides of the ball with the postseason looming just a few short weeks away.

The Antagonist

The Kings have received brutal injury blows in the last week, losing starting guard Kevin Huerter for the rest of the season and sixth man Malik Monk for 4-6 weeks. Monk is third on the Kings in scoring, assists, and threes made, and is the Kings’ clear second ball-handler after Fox. Huerter is having a down season but is still sixth on the team in scoring and fifth in threes. In short, the Kings are down a lot of firepower with their postseason status very much in the balance. Their two best players (Fox and Sabonis) and top wing (Murray) are still healthy, but the Kings will need to fight like hell to keep themselves in the race for the 6^th and 5^th seeds and out of the play-in.

Notes

No Small-Ball: The Kings’ best player is big man Domantas Sabonis, and he is the type of center who absolutely feasts on smaller players with his size and physicality. While Plumlee and Theis can probably do ok on him, Ivica Zubac has had success against Sabonis in the past and is by far the Clippers’ best option on him. Considering how much Sabonis plays, I would hope that Zu sees a ton of minutes in this one as well, just as he has in the past couple games. And, while I think small-ball could work when Sabonis is out of the game, I can’t imagine it will work while he’s playing. I’ll be curious if Ty Lue thus plays similar rotations to the past two games, or returns to Tinkering Ty.

Matchup Quirks: The Kings don’t play as fast as you might think given Fox is their point guard and Monk is their first guy off the bench, but they are still 12^th in the NBA in pace compared to the Clippers at 24. The Clippers should try to keep this game slow and in the halfcourt, as their abysmal transition defense is ripe prey for the Kings. The Kings are also a decent offensive rebounding team (14ht) while the Clippers are a poor defensive rebounding team (24^th). The Kings are missing two of their best shooters, so the Clippers need to limit them to one shot each trip down the floor to maximize the “math game”. If the Clippers can keep the Kings out of transition and off the offensive glass, they should win this one.

Disclaimer: 213Hoops may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this post.

Clippers vs Kings Preview: Important Standings Game
Robert Flom

The LA Clippers returned home after the All-Star break but fell to the Sacramento Kings, 123-107.

Summary

Prior to tip-off against the Kings, the Clippers got good news and bad news. The good news was that Norman Powell, who sat out against the Memphis Grizzlies, was available. The bad news was Paul George, who had been downgraded to questionable during the day, was officially ruled out.

With Powell replacing George in the starting lineup, the Clippers got off to a solid start and held a 28-25 lead at the end of the first quarter. While the Kings surged ahead in the second quarter, the Clippers were still facing a manageable deficit, 58-51.

The second half was a completely different story. The Kings built an 18-point lead in the third quarter before the Clippers were able to whittle it down. Powell knocked down a string of three-point shots to help slice into the deficit and Kawhi Leonard had an emphatic block on De’Aaron Fox as the Clippers appeared to be getting back into the game.

That was when De’Aaron Fox took over. Fox got into the paint repeatedly in the fourth quarter and the Clippers had no answer as to how to slow him down. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue admitted Fox has been a thorn in the Clippers side for quite some time.

“I’ve never seen us keep him out of the paint as long as I’ve been here. He’s always in the paint, that’s what he does. That’s why he’s one of the best point guards in the league,” Lue said. “We know they have shooters on the floor, we didn’t do a good job of taking away the paint first. . .he lives in the paint, that’s what he does and we didn’t do a good job protecting it.”

This game included, it hasn’t been a friendly month for the Clippers. Once the team returned from their Grammy road trip, it’s been inconsistent play after inconsistent play. The Clippers lone wins in that stretch were sluggish against lottery teams in the Pistons and Grizzlies and a comeback against the Warriors sparked by Draymond Green’s antics.

Aside from that, they’ve dropped important games agains the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder, all teams within striking distance in the standings.

Even with the Clippers recent struggles, Powell is confident they can regain the momentum they had just a few weeks ago.

“Just touching up on a few things and practicing this stuff right after the break,” Powell said. “We have two days to clean up some things, get back in the flow offensively and defensively and how we want to play every single night. But it’s being tied in defensively, that’s the biggest things. Offense, not too worried about that, we got enough talent to figure that out throughout the course of games. . .we’ve got to clean up a few things.”

Clippers vs Kings Recap: Second Half Woes Sink Clips
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers return home to face off against their division rival, the Sacramento Kings.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

When: 6:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal, ESPN

Tickets: For great deals on Clippers tickets, check out Barry’s Tickets!

Projected Starting Lineups

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

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Kevin Huerter – Harrison Barnes – Keegan Murray – Domantas Sabonis

Injury Report

Clippers: Norman Powell questionable (ankle)

Kings: Sasha Vezenkov out (ankle), Alex Len (questionable) illness

The Big Picture

The LA Clippers return home from a mini-road trip following the All-Star break. Prior to the break, the Clippers looked like a team that needed extended rest. Now that the regular season has resumed, they didn’t look all that great against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies.

The Clippers completely fell apart in the second half against the Thunder and somewhat sluggishly held off the Grizzlies. With an increasingly tight race in the Western Conference for a top four seed, this isn’t the time for the Clippers to hit a slump.

Part of the issue with the Clippers has been getting consistent bench production as well as a set bench rotation. Tyronn Lue is well-known for his tinkering and experimenting with lineups, but the Clippers have been hurt with some of these bench lineups.

One thing to look for is the final injury status for Norman Powell. Powell sat out against the Grizzlies and is questionable against the Kings due to an ankle injury. Powell has been such an important player off the bench for the Clippers and they need him in the lineup as soon as possible.

The Antagonist

The Sacramento Kings come to town in a different situation from last season. It was almost one year ago to the day when the Clippers and Kings put up the highest regular season scoring game in NBA history. The Kings were consistently a top three team in the West and caught the league by surprise.

This season, the Kings are a little bit lower in the standings. They’re only 5-5 in their last ten games and battling to get out of a play-in spot. De’Aaron Fox has picked up his play as of late and has been a thorn in the Clippers side.

The Clippers have won the first two games against the Kings this season in dominating fashion. Nevertheless, this is still a dangerous team, one not to take likely.

One thing the Clippers have working in their favor is at least this isn’t a Sunday matinee game. All jokes aside though, the Clippers need to get a win to keep pace in the West standings if the top seed is truly their goal.

213Hoops may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this post.

Clippers vs. Kings Game Preview: Home Again
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers welcome the Sacramento Kings to town to try to lock in a five-game winning streak.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Kevin Huerter – Harrison Barnes – Keegan Murray – Domantas Sabonis

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

Injuries

Kings: Alex Len Out (Ankle)

Clippers: Mason Plumlee Out (Knee)

The Big Picture

The Clippers have a four-game winning streak, their longest of the season, and now sit at 12-10, firmly in the West playoff picture. It certainly has not always been pretty, with last nights’ tough win over a bad Blazers team being particularly ugly. But the Clippers have finally figured out their roles and rotations in the Harden landscape, and those set expectations are very helpful in getting the team into a rhythm. Kawhi Leonard has really come on after a slow (for him) start to the season, looking a lot like the Kawhi Leonard who was a dominant presence down the stretch last year. If he can keep rolling like this, and the Clippers remain mostly healthy around him, wins will probably keep stacking up.

The Antagonist

The Kings have won two games in a row, with last night being a high-scoring affair against the Brooklyn Nets. You know what you’re getting from the Kings – an extremely potent offense centered around De’Aaron Fox’s speed in transition and Domantas Sabonis’ playmaking in the halfcourt. The Kings’ defense has improved this year from “atrocious” to merely “below average”, so once their offense kicks fully into gear they should be a dangerous team. Keegan Murray is still a bit inconsistent, but on nights when he’s feeling it and one of Kevin Huerter or Malik Monk is shooting well, the Kings are nearly impossible to guard.

Notes

Even Matchup: Outside of the fact that the Clippers get home-court advantage, this one is about as “fair” a game as possible. Both teams are on the second night of back to backs. Both teams previously had several days off because of the In-Season Tournament final. Each team is relatively healthy, with the only player on the injury list being a backup center. Thus, this should be a good opportunity to see where the two Pacific Division rivals are at roughly the quarter mark of the NBA season. Hopefully it’s a good game.

Clippers vs Kings Preview: Extending the Winning Streak
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