Overview: The NBA restart preseason is almost over, with just one more round of scrimmage games left. Check out this Clippers-Kings scrimmage preview to get updated on all the major storylines in this one before the regular season returns.

Game Information

Where: Orlando, Florida

When: 1:00 PM PT

How to Watch: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Kings: De’Aaron Fox – Bogdan Bogdanovic – Kent Bazemore – Nemanja Bjelica – Harry Giles

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

Injuries

Kings: Marvin Bagley Out (Foot), Richaun Holmes Out (Suspension), Harrison Barnes Questionable (Quarantine), Alex Len Questionable (COVID)

Clippers: Lou Williams Out (Quarantine), Patrick Beverley Out (Personal), Montrezl Harrell Out (Personal), Landry Shamet Doubtful (Quarantine), Ivica Zubac Questionable (Quarantine)

The Big Picture

The NBA restarts’ “preseason” is almost over, and the actual seeding games are rapidly approaching. The Clippers have been kind of a mess in the first two contests, though that’s largely due to their missing half their rotation and three of their five best players. At least they’ve avoided injury, a plague that has already befallen other NBA teams (including the Clips opponent in this one), and something that would be more serious long-term than the personal issues and resulting quarantines that have kept their players out thus far. In terms of actual play, there hasn’t been much to take away, but new addition Joakim Noah has looked solid, and fringe players such as Amir Coffey and Rodney McGruder have played well. Hopefully the Clippers continue to avoid injury and round into shape in this one.

The Antagonist

The poor, poor Kings were (as mentioned above) struck by the injury bug when Marvin Bagley injured his foot in practice last week. Bagley has dealt with several foot injuries thus far in his NBA career, a very bad sign, and has been a mixed bag when he has played. In his stead, Harry Giles will be the Kings’ center, and while Giles has talent, he’s someone the Clippers should be able to attack defensively. The Kings’ future and danger lies in their backcourt of Fox, Bogdanovic, and super-sub Buddy Hield, but there are questions regarding the trio’s fit. Realistically, barring a breakout from a younger player like Bagley, the Kings seem like they will be stuck in the treadmill of mediocrity for the next couple years. They don’t have enough talent, and their free agent additions have been poor at best.

Notes

Zu Back: After being away from the team through all of training camp, Ivica Zubac finally joined the Clips in Orlando on Friday night. With a two day quarantine, he should be cleared to play in this one, but whether Doc Rivers thinks he’s ready for actual game action, even a scrimmage, is a different story. Then again, Marcus Morris played in a scrimmage just a day after arriving in Orlando, so Zu will probably play as well. This will relegate Joakim Noah to the second unit, and will probably limit the amount of small ball the Clippers will play. It will be interesting to see how Zu looks – hopefully he’s been able to stay in shape during the season hiatus.

More Sophisticated Offensive Sets: Doc Rivers said in his Wizards postgame press conference that he has opened up his playbook and is running more of the team’s actual sets. This fits in what we’ve seen this season, where the Clippers have been running pretty basic offensive sets, probably due to all the injuries and new players. Bringing in more sophisticated offensive tactics could be part of why the Clippers have looked so sloppy – they’re adapting to the new stuff. However, while there will be growing pains, these sets will be needed in the playoffs, where each bucket is needed and hard to come by. Maybe in this third scrimmage the Clippers will look a bit smoother on offense.

Guarding Fox: De’Aaron Fox is the engine to the Kings’ offense – and their best player. If Patrick Beverley was playing, he would certainly grab this matchup, but with Pat out, it will be interesting to see who draws him. Since it’s a scrimmage, maybe Reggie Jackson just gets the assignment straight up as the opposing point guard, but it could be a good chance to get Kawhi or Paul George practice guarding such guys before the seeding games start. So far both guys have coasted a bit defensively in the scrimmages, which is fine, as the games don’t matter. Defending Fox could allow them to ramp up a little while still not going full throttle.

The King’s Herald: Some of our lovely friends who are Sacramento Kings fans are doing the same sort of thing we do here at 213Hoops–running an independent blog by fans, for fans. For the opposing perspective on this match-up, check out their site.

That ends this Clippers Kings scrimmage preview. Stay tuned for more updates regarding this game and the Clippers’ various player quarantine situations.

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-Kings Scrimmage Preview: End of Preseason
Robert Flom

After a couple weeks of bad Clippers news, with players seemingly leaving the NBA restart bubble in droves, good news is here at last, as Ivica Zubac arrived in Orlando last night, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

If Zu gets through his two-day quarantine with no issues, he’d be free to join the team Sunday night. The Clippers do have a scrimmage Monday afternoon, which Zu could technically play in, but considering he won’t have practiced with the team at all before then, it seems unlikely.

However, this does mean that barring a positive test for COVID-19, Zu should be available for the Clippers’ first seeding game against the Lakers on Thursday night. This is a big deal. Not only are the Lakers the Clippers’ primary rival in the Western Conference, but they are also one of the biggest teams in the NBA, which means the Clippers would be at a huge disadvantage without their full complement of big men. Zu’s presence will be very nice to have against Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard, though it will be a tough first game from him after months off.

With Marcus Morris back with the Clips, and Montrezl Harrell reportedly on his way back too, the Clippers are finally starting to regain their strength. This is really not a moment too soon, as not only are the seeding games important (the Clippers would be very wise to not drop below 3), but building up some chemistry before the playoffs would be great.

In the short term, the news that Ivica Zubac arrived in Orlando means he should reclaim his spot as the Clippers’ starting center sooner than later. Hopefully he’s in shape and somewhat ready to go, because he will be needed very, very soon. It will be good to have the big guy back around.

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.

Ivica Zubac Arrived in Orlando Last Night
Robert Flom

A few days ago, it was reported that JaMychal Green would be heading to Orlando would occur today, July 12. Well, by Green’s own Instagram story, he is officially on his way.

With Green en route, and Kawhi arriving a couple days ago, the Clippers are finally approaching a full complement of players in Orlando. Ivica Zubac still has yet to report, and Landry Shamet of course has to test negative multiple times for COVID-19 before heading over, but it seems like everyone else is now present in the bubble. There’s been nothing to indicate that Zubac is dealing with anything serious, so it might just be a matter of logistics (or a family matter) that is delaying him. Shamet’s bout with COVID is more worrying, but again, reports have been positive so far, and the Clippers seem highly confident they will have all 15 players in Orlando.

As the Clippers slowly gather their strength, they will be able to orchestrate larger practices that better reflect Doc River’s true strategies and rotations in the postseason. JaMychal Green heading to Orlando is a big deal on this level, as he will probably have a sizable role to play in the months to come. This period before games restart is essentially a mini training camp, and it’s imperative that the Clippers have as many players as possible participate to regain some chemistry and hone their execution.

We will continue to keep posted on developments out of Orlando, but right now it seems as though shootarounds, workouts, and perhaps full practices have already commenced. The Clippers have begun posting some images from the practices, and video will probably be on its way at some point soon to provide even more tantalizing tidbits for fans. The Clippers’ first scrimmage in Orlando is just 10 days away – Clippers basketball is almost here at last.

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.

JaMychal Green Heading to Orlando
Robert Flom

Andrew Greif broke several minor stories tonight with his article in the LA Times, and perhaps the most interesting is that the Clippers brought two-way player Amir Coffey to the NBA Orlando restart over 1st round rookie Mfiondu Kabengele.

On the face of it, this is a somewhat surprising choice in terms of the investment that the Clippers made into each player. However, the Orlando restart is not about long-term development. It’s about winning a championship, and the Clippers decided that Coffey might help them more than Kabengele in that regard.

This makes sense. Mfiondu is a high-ceiling prospect, but his defense and decision-making are not ready for the NBA yet, and that essentially makes him unplayable. Furthermore, the Clippers just signed veteran big man Joakim Noah, giving them three centers firmly ahead of Fi. That’s not even counting small-ball big men like Marcus Morris, JaMychal Green, and even Patrick Patterson. There’s just no way that Fi will play outside of garbage time.

Coffey, on the other hand, is both closer to rotation minutes due to positional scarcity, and has fewer harmful qualities as an NBA player. His defense has been promising in limited minutes, and while he’s certainly not going to do too much offensively, he can at least handle the ball a little and make spot-up threes. The Clippers probably won’t need to call on him (and hopefully they don’t have to), but if they do, he’s far more likely than Fi to provide a handful of playable NBA minutes in a pinch.

Ultimately, the Clippers bringing Amir Coffey to Orlando over Fi probably won’t have much an impact either way. While the Clippers are somewhat shorter at wing than they now are at center, there are still many players ahead of Coffey for wing minutes, and it’s unlikely he sees real time. Still, his getting taken to Orlando is a positive sign for how the Clippers view him, and will be a nice boost for his development as an NBA player.

Clippers Bring Amir Coffey to Orlando over Mfiondu Kabengele
Robert Flom