The Clippers are coming off a win and the return of Kawhi Leonard, but will face a much stiffer test on the road against the potent defense of the Timberwolves.

Game Information

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

When: 5:00 PM PT

How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Timberwolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert

Injuries

Clippers: Kai Jones Out (G-League), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)

Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham Out (Ankle), Josh Minott Questionable (Illness), Luka Garza Questionable (Ankle)

The Big Picture

The Clippers beat the Hawks soundly on Saturday, but didn’t really play all that well; the Hawks were truly abysmal. However, the vibes in Clippersnation were extremely high due to the 2025 debut of superstar Kawhi Leonard, who played 19+ minutes, looked healthy (if rusty), made some threes, and is not listed on the injury report for today’s game. Kawhi’s presence, even at a non-star level, was apparent, as he added size, further defense, and perimeter shooting to the Clippers right away. Kawhi will need time to knock off the fact he hasn’t played NBA basketball consistently in 10 months, but the debut was very much on par with reasonable expectations. The cherry on top of the Kawhi sundae was the simultaneous return of Terance Mann from a month-long absence, and Mann played excellently on both ends of the court. The Clippers will certainly not remain at full strength like they are now, but hopefully they have a run of good health luck for a few weeks at least to build up some much-needed reps with Kawhi.

The Antagonist

The Timberwolves have, despite flashes of brilliance, remained stuck in neutral this season. The Wolves sit squarely at .500 with a 17-17 record, boasting the 9^th best defense in the NBA but only the 21^st ranked offense. That makes them a similar-esque team to the defense-leaning Clippers – yet the Wolves had much higher expectations entering the season. While Anthony Edwards has been very good, he hasn’t made the leap to true-blue superstar that many thought he would. Combine that with Julius Randle struggling to fit in, Jaden McDaniels regressing, and Mike Conley’s age catching up to him, and you have a solid but mediocre team more than 40% of the way through the season. There’s some heat on Chris Finch’s head coaching spot, Randle is being talked about in trades constantly, and Wolves fans are not happy with the lack of progression. It has not been a fun season in Minneapolis.

Notes

Kawhi Minutes Restriction: Kawhi Leonard was capped at 20 minutes in his season debut on Saturday and got to just under that mark in the blowout win. It’s unclear how long he will have a minutes restriction of 20 per game, or if he’s able to progress little by little. I’d expect him to be in that 20-minute range again in this one. Against the Hawks, Kawhi got to about 20 minutes in the first three quarters, and would not have played the 4^th even if the game was close. In a game that will probably be closer than the Hawks rout, it will be interesting to see if Ty Lue conserves Kawhi’s minutes to save a few for down the stretch, or if he uses them all up by the 3^rd quarter again to give Leonard more normal 5-7 minute rotations in the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd quarters.

No Bamba: The rotations were a bit all over the place against the Hawks due to not only Kawhi’s return but also Terance’s Mann’s first appearance in a month, but the most obvious rotation choice was the DNP-CD for Mo Bamba. Mo has provided the Clippers with very little offensively in his two months in the rotation outside of the occasional three-pointer or offensive rebound, and has been just “ok” on defense. Ty’s decision to go small in the second unit was not a surprising one, but he might play Mo against the Wolves just because they play big and physically most of the time. If there was ever a game to use Mo situationally, it would be this one. If he doesn’t suit up against the Timberwolves, well, he’s probably pretty firmly out of the Clippers’ healthy rotation at this point.

The Turnover Battle: The biggest frustration for Clippers’ fans this season has been the team’s careless turnovers. The Clippers rank 29^th in turnover percentage, ranking ahead of only the hapless Utah Jazz. Well, the Timberwolves aren’t much better, coming in at 24^th in the NBA at taking care of the basketball. As both teams struggle in general offensively, it stands to reason that the team that turns the ball over least will have a major, major edge, as it will enable them to get out in transition more and out of turgid halfcourt play. Turnovers are always important, but they might prove mission-critical in this one.

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Preview: Continuing the Good Kawhi Vibes
Robert Flom

The Clippers will try to avenge their loss to the Wolves last week, but will face a tough challenge on the second night of a back-to-back.

Game Information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: NBA TV, KTLA

Projected Starting Lineups

Wolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert

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

Injuries

Wolves: Rob Dillingham Out (Ankle), Joe Ingles Out (Calf)

Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Kevin Porter Jr. Questionable (Ankle), Kobe Brown Out (Back), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)

The Antagonist

It’s been less than a week since the Clippers faced the Wolves, but the Wolves feel like they may have turned a corner. Between their strong defense that won them the game against the Clippers and their drubbing of the Lakers earlier this week, the Wolves have reached .500 at 10-10 and their defense has risen all the way up to 7^th. It’s just two games, but the Wolves have a lot of talent, and their defense should be better than it has been so far. They will be a very difficult opponent with the Clippers tired out on the second night of a back-to-back.

That’s really it for this – the number of games without much of a break is getting to be a lot. The Clippers finally have some rest soon, and we can start taking a longer look at what’s been going on so far this year. Comment below!

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Preview: Revenge for Last Week
Robert Flom

The Clippers are looking to keep the positive Thanksgiving vibes going on a trek into Minneapolis against the slumping Timberwolves.

Game Information

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

When: 4:30 PM PT

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

Projected Starting Lineups

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

Wolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert

Injuries

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

Wolves: Joe Ingles Out (Calf)

The Big Picture

Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, the Clippers are 12-8, putting them on pace for a 49-win campaign, which would be a shocking result without Kawhi Leonard. Their defense has risen to 5^th in the NBA, while their offense has settled in at 22^nd, which isn’t great but has been enough to get the job done. They are winning as a team, as they’ve been able to survive extended absences of not just Kawhi, but leading scorer Norm Powell and backup center Mo Bamba. It’s been a fun, enjoyable group with a couple notable exceptions – cough, Kevin Porter Jr. and rotation player Kai Jones cough – that plays hard and has only really felt outclassed by the Celtics and Rockets. There’s a ton of season left to go, but this team is legitimately tough and hard to deal with.

The Antagonist

The Wolves, by contrast, have had a very disappointing season that has seen fans booing the team at recent home games. After making the Western Conference Finals last year and hoping for a repeat this season, the Wolves are just 8-10 to start the year, with a 13^th ranked offense and 12^th ranked defense. Being close to top 10 on both sides of the ball suggests things aren’t all that bad, and the Wolves do have a positive point differential. But things look worse than that on the court, with Julius Randle not meshing well with Rudy Gobert or Anthony Edwards on offense and the team greatly missing Karl-Anthony Towns’ rebounding and size on defense. The Wolves definitely have the talent to turn things around, and there are games when they look very good. But Mike Conley’s age, Jaden McDaniels’ inability to shoot, and Donte DiVincenzo’s regression after a career year are all danger signs for the Wolves, and it remains to be seen if they can be overcome.

Notes

Winning the Turnover Battle: The Wolves actually score the ball fairly efficiently (8^th in True Shooting) but have an average offense because they turn the ball over at the 23^rd worst rate in the NBA. The Clippers are in a similar boat, as their offense is 16^th in True Shooting but 28^th in giving the ball away. Thus, if the Clippers can just keep their turnovers down while forcing their usual number of turnovers on the other end, they stand a very good chance of winning. Easier said than done, of course, but it is a relatively straightforward path to victory.

Harden’s Shooting Momentum: James Harden has stacked three of his most efficient shooting performances of the season back-to-back, culminating in his awesome 43-point outing against the hapless Wizards on Wednesday. The Wolves are a different animal entirely than the Wizards, even with their slippage on defense this year, but Harden is 13-26 from three over the past three games and is very hard to stop when he gets rolling from deep. He will certainly not keep shooting at that clip forever, but if he continues to roll for another few games, he can help push the Clippers further over .500. The Wolves do have a bevy of defenders to throw at him – Ant Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker – so a downswing would be understandable. But maybe the Beard can continue to surprise.

Miller Time: Jordan Miller has continued to impress. In the five games since he’s entered the rotation, he’s averaging 9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.5% from three. He’s still a bit raw on defense, yet the tools flash bright, and the effort is never in question. On offense, Millers’ decisiveness in shooting, passing, or driving stands in stark contrast to two of his bench counterparts – Kevin Porter Jr. and Terance Mann – and have allowed him to be effective even against other team’s real rotations. It’s going to be very hard to take him out of the rotation even when Norm does return, and I think cases could be made that he should play over Mann (not what I’d do) or Porter Jr. (yes) in a healthy rotation.

Clippers vs Timberwolves Game Preview: Thanksgiving Hangover or No?
Robert Flom

The LA Clippers lost 118-100 to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night in an embarrassing effort. Keep reading for a full recap of the game.

RECAP

In quite possibly the most crucial game of the season (we’ve said this about many games), one of my bigger concerns was if this older Clippers team would treat it as such. Would they throw the first punch? Would they ditch the play-from-behind strategy? Could they actually figure out how to execute offense against one of the better defensive teams in the league? To my surprise, the answers to each of the above-mentioned questions were a resounding YES. 

Unlike the LA’s early-March matchup with Minnesota, everything clicked almost instantly. Behind a hot shooting start from Paul George and James Harden, the home team raced out to a 25-10, which grew to more than 20 by the middle of the second quarter. For the Clippers, the ball was hopping, shots were falling, and the energy was visible. Conversely, the Timberwolves, losers of two straight entering this contest, looked as lifeless and uninterested as ever and seemed ready to throw in the towel. But just as the game appeared to be broken open, a quick 10-0 Minnesota run (one of multiple) breathed some life back into the Timberwolves and redirected the course of this game.

Amidst the Wolves’ second-quarter flurry, reports surfaced that Kawhi Leonard had departed the Clippers bench and later left the arena entirely after experiencing back spasms. The series of events dealt the Clippers the dose of adversity they’ve proven incapable of dealing with appropriately. 

As usual, the Clips did what they’ve grown accustomed to doing in such situations, which is forget how to play basketball entirely. Turnovers, poor rebounding, and iso-ball spiraled this one out of control during the third quarter as Nickeil Alexander-Walker threw jabs, and Anthony Edwards fired off some haymakers to put the Clippers on the canvas. After an uninspiring 15-point third quarter left the Clippers down 84-78 heading into the final frame, Mike Conley Jr. got loose from beyond the arc and landed the final blows, leading to Ty Lue throwing in the towel just more than halfway through the fourth quarter.

The final seconds ticked away and the horn sounded with Minnesota walking away with both a dominant win and the season series. The Clippers, on the other hand, exit Crypto with the very real possibility of losing position for homecourt advantage. 

GAME NOTES

Leonard Injury:
As annoying as this loss was, the bigger and more important outcome of this affair was Kawhi Leonard leaving the game after just 12 minutes of play. The Clippers were playing well while he was out there but couldn’t figure things out once the adult left the room (the arena, actually). We probably won’t get much info regarding the injury or clarity on the timeline, so all we can do is hope the injury isn’t something that’ll linger for a while. It’s quite clear that LA can’t function without his services.

A Common Theme:
This Clippers team has a disturbing tendency to let go of the rope completely. And for a team with so many seasoned vets, one of the better coaches in the game, and some of the game’s elite talents, it’s hard to fathom how they can get spooked so easily. Post-ASB alone, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and now Minnesota Timberwolves have all come back from large deficits to not only beat the Clippers but embarrass them entirely in the process. My question is: when’s someone going to step up and say enough is enough?

Big Picture:

The Clippers are in trouble. Buckle up!

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Recap: A Tale of Two Halves
Cole Huff

The L.A. Clippers will host the suddenly cold Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night in a game that could have massive playoff implications. Both teams will be desperate for a win following a rough recent stretch of basketball, but which team will prevail? Continue reading for our Clippers-Timberwolves preview.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

When: 7:00 p.m. PT

How to Tune in: TNT, TruTV, ClipperVision, 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

Timberwolves: Mike Conley – Nickeil Alexander-Walker – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Naz Reid

Injury Report

Clippers: Russell Westbrook Out (Hand)

Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns Out (Knee), Rudy Gobert Probable (Hamstring), Kyle Anderson Probable (Shoulder)

The Big Picture

Although March is not even a couple of weeks old, January and February couldn’t possibly feel any farther away for the Clippers than they do currently. As the Clippers have played below .500 basketball since the franchise-best Grammy road trip, even sniffing January’s 12-3 mark and the highs of the high that came with it seem unfathomable.

Yet, even given how south everything has gone lately, quite frankly, none of that should matter come 7:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday night at Crypto. As we saw on March 3rd when the Clippers were in a similar spot and pulled off an 89-88 rock fight of a win in Minnesota to momentarily restore some optimism and good vibes (only to blow a double-digit lead the following night in Milwaukee in a disappointing loss to the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks), they have a chance to do something similar on Tuesday. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard rested during Sunday’s matinee loss to the Bucks and should be good to go Tuesday, giving L.A. more than enough to extend an ailing Minnesota’s losing streak to three games.

The Antagonist

So, that bump in the road the Clippers have encountered? Minnesota’s there as well. Blame poor late-game execution on offense, injuries, or whatever — the Timberwolves have already lost more games this month (three) than all of last month, and with Karl-Anthony Towns out after undergoing knee surgery, it’s reasonable to be bearish on the team for the time being. Injuries and a bad fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers aside, the T’Wolves are still a very potent and unique defensive team that has made life miserable for the Clippers this season (assuming Rudy Gobert is healthy and able to play). Their length is likely to bother L.A, but we’ll see if any stylistic adjustments are made from the Clippers’ side in their fourth crack this season at solving Minnesota’s defense.

The Bottom Line
Both teams need this game. But speaking as a Clippers follower, the Clips really need it. A win would give them a split of the season series with Minnesota (important for end-of-season tiebreakers and whatnot) and would keep them tied in the loss column with the T’Wolves. A loss would drop L.A. that much closer to the fifth seed, where the red-hot New Orleans Pelicans are getting dangerously close to threatening Ty Lue’s squad for homecourt advantage. Cliche, but this is probably the biggest game of the Clippers’ season. Let’s see if they treat it as such.

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

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Game Preview
Cole Huff

The LA Clippers scraped their way to a huge win in Minnesota, beating the Timberwolves by one. Check out how it went down below.

Update to our preview: Ivica Zubac did play, and start, but only played 19 minutes.

Summary

The Clippers looked listless to start the game, only scoring 18 points to the Timberwolves’ 30 in the first quarter. The deficit was as big as 16, but the Clippers started to wake up as the quarter ended thanks to nine quick points from Norm Powell.

LA’s momentum continued from there, as the Clippers and Timberwolves switched places in the second quarter. The Clippers put up 31 points in the second to the Timberwolves’ 16. Norm added six more to his tally and Kawhi was up to 15 points at the half.

From there, the game was extremely close. There were 12 lead changes and four ties in the second half. The Clippers hit just enough shots to close it out, although barely. Paul George finally made a few, but it was mostly Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell who carried the Clippers all game. James Harden, who went 0/10 from the field, only added four free throws to the Clippers’ 89 points. (To be fair, though, he did have 10 assists.)

The Clippers also got some help from Karl Anthony-Towns, who at one point missed 10 straight shots. To be fair, though, the Clippers’ defense was pretty good after the first quarter. The defensive rotations were a little sharper and the team rebounding was good enough, understanding that Gobert and Anthony-Towns are going to out-rebound the Clippers almost no matter what.

Notes

Rotation Update: James Harden typically plays the first six minutes of the first quarter and then is relieved by Russell Westbrook. Today, Harden played the first nine minutes of the first, and Bones Hyland—the new second unit point guard—only got two and a half minutes in the first frame. The substitution pattern was roughly the same in the third quarter as well.

Another notable update was Mason Plumlee getting a DNP-CD. Although Zubac was on a minutes restriction, Theis played all of the backup center minutes. In fact, Theis played the last 16 minutes of the game.

Bones only ended up playing 14 minutes, while Amir Coffey and Terance Mann played 25 and 19 respectively (which is the reverse of what they usually play). Kawhi (38 minutes) was the only other player whose minutes were meaningfully different, as he played four more than usual.

In sum, it is still not clear how Ty Lue plans to replace all of Westbrook’s 22 minutes per game. Bones absorbed 14 of them and Kawhi played a little more. But it does seem like we have a new pattern to track: Harden playing a longer first shift; the Clippers moving forward with just two centers; and no PJ Tucker.

Medals: As readers know, our Podcast likes to give our medals after wins. Below are mine. Let us know your medal stand in the comments.

Gold: Norman Powell. He sparked the early comeback, hit big shots throughout the game, and gave us a highlight dunk on a fast break (although I thought he broke his arm on that play).

Silver: Kawhi Leonard. He led the team in scoring, contributed on defense and on the boards, and played 38 minutes.

Bronze: Daniel Theis. He missed a bunch of open shots and failed to protect the rim on multiple occasions, but he battled on the boards (13 total), played the final 16 minutes of the game, and was +14.

Clippers win rock fight in Minnesota, 89-88
Kenneth Armstrong

The LA Clippers are walking into a heavyweight battle on Sunday, taking on the Western Conference’s top team. If the Clippers want to finish the season as a top seed, they need to give the Timberwolves a home loss.

Game Info

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

When: 12:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, 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 – Daniel Theis

Timberwolves: Mike Conley, Jr. – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Karl-Anthony Towns – Rudy Gobert

Injuries

Clippers: Russell Westbrook, Out (Hand); Ivica Zubac, Questionable (Illness); Paul George, Probable (Knee)

Timberwolves: Kyle Anderson, Day-to-Day (Knee); Anthony Edwards, Probable (Personal Reasons); Jaylen Clark, Out (Achilles)

The Big Picture

This is a massively important game. The Clippers are currently two losses behind the Timberwolves in the Western Conference standings, and play them twice in the next 10 days. If the Clippers want to finish as a top-three seed, they must take at least one of these games—and probably both. Losing both would not guarantee that the Clippers slip down below the fourth seed, but that would be a serious risk, with the Suns playing better as of late.

The Clippers will also be learning on the fly in this game. With Russell Westbrook out, Ty Lue will have to figure out how to integrate Bones into the rotation. The Clippers will have to lean on their top end talent—Kawhi, PG, and Harden—while also trying out a few tricks. I would not be surprised if we see Lue test out PJ Tucker on the T’Wolves bigs and generally go small to counter Gobert, as we have seen before.

The Antagonist

The Timberwolves are not a good match up for the Clippers, especially if Zubac is unavailable or limited due to his illness. Through their first two meetings, the T’Wolves have out-rebounded the Clippers by 12 and have dominated the Clippers in the paint, outscoring the Clippers by 30. Moreover, the Clippers have often had Paul George guard Anthony-Towns, which might be a problem given that PG is still dealing with his knee injury. Finally, replacing Westbrook with Bones means an easier path to the basket for Anthony Edwards.

Footnote

More on Bones: Bones Hyland will get his chance, with Westbrook out. But, as the crew discussed on the podcast, Terance Mann and Amir Coffey will likely see their minutes increase as well because Bones can be a defensive liability. That said, I hope Bones gets an opportunity to play more than 15 minutes per game (for reference, Westbrook has averaged 22.6 mpg this season). While Russell has been an asset on defense and doing the “little things,” he is still a negative spacer. Bones can shoot from the outside and the really outside. Hopefully, this could create more space for PG and Kawhi as they work in the post and in the lane.

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

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Preview: Western Conference Battle
Kenneth Armstrong

The LA Clippers could not match the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half as they fell, 121-100, in one of their worst losses of the season.

Summary

Even before the opening tip, there was a playoff vibe in the air as the LA Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves were set to square off in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference.

And in the first half, that heavyweight billing certainly did not disappoint. Early in the first quarter, the game was a slugfest with neither team able to find an offensive rhythm nor able to create any separation.

The Timberwolves tried to pull away late in the first quarter, but a flurry of dunks and and a three-pointer from Kawhi Leonard kept the game close.

The Wolves tried to pull away again in the second quarter, going up by as many as ten, 43-33. But the Clippers responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game up. A Paul George three-pointer gave the Clippers their first lead of the game at 50-49 and James Harden extended that to 53-49 with a buzzer beating three of his own heading into the half.

The second half was a completely different story though. The Timberwolves opened the third quarter with a quick 8-0 burst and the Clippers were never able to match their energy.

Following the game, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was brutally honest about what happened.

“Outcoached us, outplayed us and everything,” Lue said. “They played better than we did.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Clippers were facing their largest deficit of the game, 89-72. The fourth quarter was more of the same, and close to the five minute mark Lue opted to pull the regulars and empty the bench.

It was a disappointing effort from the Clippers in the second half considering what was at stake. With the loss, the Clippers fall back to third in the Western Conference standings.

Despite the loss, Kawhi Leonard still believes this Clippers team is knocking on the door in terms of being a championship caliber team.

“We’re right there,” Leonard said. “We’ve been winning games as everybody has seen. . .there’s ways for us to get better and that’s what’s scary. We started gelling a little late and now is the time to kind of turn it around.”

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Recap: Tale of two halves
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers escaped from a trap game on Saturday with a narrow victory, and now face a huge matchup against the West-leading Timberwolves.

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

When: 7:30 PM PT

How to Watch: Clippervision, Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV

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

Timberwolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Karl-Anthony Towns – Rudy Gobert

Injury Report

Clippers: None

Timberwolves: Jaden McDaniels questionable (finger), Jaylen Clark out (Achilles), Leonard Miller out (G League Assignment)

The Big Picture

The LA Clippers are coming off a game where they flipped the script in a matinee showing. They actually got off a to a good start before falling asleep against the Detroit Pistons and needing fourth quarter heroics to grab a win.

At the end of the day though, a win is a win and all that matters is the game brought the Clippers closer to regaining the first seed in the Western Conference.

The Clippers got positive news on Sunday, however, when their injury report was released and it was clean. Norman Powell took a hard shot to the face against the Pistons and was bleeding profusely before having to be helped to the locker room. It appears as though he avoided anything serious including possible concussion protocol. and should be available tonight.

The Antagonist

The Minnesota Timberwolves come to town back in first place after the Clippers had briefly climbed to the top of the West following their Grammy road trip.

This team has been playing consistently well all season. This is arguably the biggest game of the year for the Clippers. The Wolves held off the Clippers, 109-105, during their first meeting this season which was just about a month ago. During that game, Anthony Edwards had a game-high 33 points and Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 18 rebounds.

This time around, the Clippers are already behind the eight ball with Ivica Zubac still being on a minutes restriction after returning from injury. That’s going to be a big factor against the Wolves frontline of Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns. The Clippers aren’t going to be able to get away with going small as much.

The Clippers essentially control their destiny for the first seed in the West and it’s something they’ve stated is their goal recently. This game is going to be very telling as to where they stand heading into the final stretch of the season.

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

Clippers vs. Timberwolves Game Preview
David Yapkowitz

The Clippers are playing well, but will face one of their toughest tests of the season on the road against the Western Conference leading Timberwolves.

Game Information

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

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

Timberwolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Karl Anthony Towns – Rudy Gobert

Injuries

Clippers: Moussa Diabate Out (Hand)

Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards Questionable (Knee), Jaylen Clark Out (Achilles)

The Big Picture

The Clippers continue to make believers out of skeptics. Now 25-13 and with a top five Net Rating in the NBA, they are getting buzz as true contenders once more. That is not to say they don’t have flaws. Their offense can still get stagnant and jumpshot-happy. Their transition defense is slow at times. Their defensive rebounding is frequently subpar. However, they keep winning games through stretches of dominance and enough competence and effort the rest of the time to keep leads afloat or remain within striking distance. It is a serious, professional, and hard-playing team, and those aren’t things we’ve bee able to say for most of the 213 era.

The Antagonist

The Wolves sit at 1^st in the Western Conference with a sparkling 27-11 record. They have reached this height through good health (of their top 8 in the rotation, only McDaniels has missed more than 3 games) and through defense. The Wolves boast the best defense in the NBA by a wide margin, holding a defensive rating of 108.3. This is 2.5 points better/lower than the 2^nd ranked Sixers, and if you go 2.5 points down from the Sixers, you go all the way to the 10^th ranked Grizzlies. The defense makes sense when you consider Rudy Gobert at center, Jaden McDaniels on the perimeter, and size and length across the roster. The Wolves’ offense, however, is just 20^th in the NBA, as they lack shooting and consistent perimeter creation outside of Edwards. Still, their defense alone makes them a highly formidable opponent.

Notes

Who Does Gobert Guard: The Wolves play their two big man lineup of Towns and Gobert, which has been a boon to their rebounding and defense (though a detriment at times on offense). The Clippers play four perimeter players, which means one of those two guys will have to defend a Clippers guard or wing. My guess would be that Gobert is put on Terance Mann while Towns guards Zubac, enabling Gobert to roam. The Clippers saw this defense in the 2021 playoffs – and we all know what happened there. The Wolves’ perimeter defenders are much better than that Jazz grouping, so the Wolves can probably get away with it more. If Mann isn’t hitting on threes or punishing Gobert (or Towns), we might see a heavy dose of the “Powell Rangers” unit in this one to add more shooting and spacing.

Stopping Ant: The Wolves have some very good players, but their offense relies heavily on Anthony Edwards for perimeter creation. Edwards is still not the best decision-maker, and his shooting can be streaky, but he’s an explosive scorer and a guy who can be nearly impossible to stop when his shot is falling. Fortunately, the Clippers have a bevy of players to throw at him. I’d imagine Terance Mann gets first crack to prevent wear on Kawhi and George, but both of those guys probably get cracks on Ant as well. Even Russ is big and strong enough to hang with Ant. He might have a dominant game anyway, but the Clippers have the personnel to make his life hard.

Clippers vs Timberwolves Preview: Showdown in Minny
Robert Flom