What’s up with the Los Angeles Clippers?
What was previewed as a Russell Westbrook revenge game between the Clippers and the Lakers turned out to be something better: a dominating win that propelled the Clippers to the fifth spot (tied with the Golden State Warriors). Now, it’s a matter of holding on to it to avoid the play-in tournament.
The injury to Paul George was the latest mishap that hit an already unlucky Clippers team that’s been battling to keep their pieces together on the court ever since they built the George-Kawhi Leonard duo. The good thing about it is that while PG and Kawhi alternated between load management and getting better, the other players not named PG and Kawhi got better in their own games. Watch out for the returning Norman Powell, who just came off a 27-point game in the win versus the Lakers in just his fourth game back.
What’s up with the Portland Trail Blazers?
Speaking of mishaps, the Blazers are still struggling to deal with their own. Here’s a list of names that Portland has been missing: Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons, Justise Winslow, and Nassir Little. Their starting five and the sixth man.
The result of that is inevitable. They’re on a two-game losing streak and sit in 13th place in the West standings, with doomed hopes for playoff contention. That’s a hard pill to swallow for what could have been a promising season for Portland, which saw the rise of Simons and the arrival of seventh pick rookie Shaedon Sharpe. But, as basketball fate would have it, the Blazers had to chalk this one up to another lost season.
Storyline to watch out for
The Clippers may finish as high as fifth in the West, depending on how the Warriors and the Lakers finish their respective seasons. As they’re about to end their season in back-to-back games versus the Blazers and then versus the Suns, this is no time to lose.
Both games are crucial for different reasons. A win against Portland solidifies the hold on fifth, which if they succeed will result in a first-round matchup against the fourth-seed Suns. The Clippers have their work cut out for them and it’ll be up to a final regular season push for Leonard and the squad to finish strong.
Prediction
With the high stakes involved, the Clippers should be able to dispatch the depleted Blazers easily. The quicker they blow them out, the quicker their stars can rest for a more difficult matchup versus the Suns the following night.
Where to watch
The Clippers hope to solidify their playoff position when they face the Blazers tomorrow live at 4:00 AM on NBA League Pass, available on Smart LiveStream and Cignal TV.
