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Clippers vs Blazers Preview: Building a Win Streak
The Clippers are coming off against the largest win in franchise history against the woeful Nets – and can hopefully continue to expand upon their nascent winning streak against the lottery-dwelling Blazers.
Game
Information
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac
Blazers: Scoot Henderson – Anfernee Simons – Shaedon Sharpe – Toumani Camara – DeAndre Ayton
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Back to Back), Terance Mann Questionable (Calf), Kai Jones Out (G-League), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)
Blazers: Donovan Clingan Out (Ankle), Jerami Grant Out (Face), Matisse Thybulle Out (Ankle), Robert Williams III Doubtful (Illness), Deni Avdija Doubtful (Ankle)
Notes
Get the Win Part 2: Yes, the Clippers are on the second night of a back-to-back. Yes, they are on the road. And yes, Kawhi Leonard will be out for this game after by far his best performance of the season so far last night. Even taking all of those factors into consideration, this is a game the Clippers really have to win if they are serious about the postseason. The Blazers have talent, but are down several of their best players and are not very competent on either end of the court despite being scrappy. The Clippers did not have to play their best players a ton against the Nets, so fatigue is not as much of an excuse as normal on a back-to-back anyway. If the Clippers come out and execute on both ends, especially defense, they should be able to get the win and push their streak to three in a row.
Tinkering Ty: Ty Lue somewhat abruptly adjusted his rotation last night, announcing before the game that Kevin Porter Jr. would be out of the rotation to get a look at some other lineups. This came after Terance Mann did not get rotation minutes against the Heat. Mo Bamba also did not play last night until garbage time, meaning Ty played the 9-man rotation that I think he should play: Harden, Norm, DJJ, Kawhi, and Zu as the starters with Dunn, Amir, Mann, and Batum off the bench. That is a small grouping, but Bamba has just not been good enough this year to play regular minutes for a playoff team and Kevin Porter Jr.’s ability to sop usage is less valuable with Kawhi back and looking how he did last night. I thought the adjusted second unit with Kawhi staggered alongside looked fantastic on defense (albeit against a miserable Nets group) and with enough ballhandling and shooting to get by. Hopefully last night’s rotation experiment becomes a more permanent fixture.
Clippers vs Blazers Preview: Building a Win Streak
Robert Flom