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Clippers vs Bucks Preview: Entering the Second Half of the Season
The Clippers will play their first game after the All Star Break against the playoff-hopeful Bucks, who may or may not have MVP-candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Game
Information
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Bucks: Damian Lillard – Andre Jackson – Taurean Prince – Kyle Kuzma – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Clippers: Jordan Miller Out (G-League) Kai Jones Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League)
Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo Questionable (Calf), Damian Lillard Questionable (Hamstring), Andre Jackson Questionable (Wrist)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers
closed the first half (really it’s the first 2/3) of the season on a three-game
winning streak, placing them as the sixth seed entering the All-Star Break. The
Clippers have been buoyed all season by their second-ranked defense, which has
kept them in most games and won them well over half their contests this year.
The offense, which has had Kawhi Leonard for only 15 games, has been less
effective, but has climbed all the way to 19th after spending most
of the season in the 22 to 25 range. The Clippers are in an interesting spot,
as the West is so congested that there’s a chance they could still fall all the
way out of the postseason entirely as well as a chance they could rise up to as
high as three or four. All will depend on health and how well their new pieces mesh
together down the stretch.
The
Antagonist
At 29-24, the
Milwaukee Bucks sit squarely in the middle of the East playoff race, one game
behind the Pacers for 4th and one game up on the Pistons in 6th.
Considering their slow start to the season, they’re not in a bad spot. For a
team that has one of the three best players in the NBA and reckons itself a
title contender… well, it’s less than ideal. Giannis is still having a monster
season and will likely finish top five in MVP voting. Damian Lillard was a
worthy All Star. With those two guys healthy and competence around them, the
Bucks are no pushover. Yet, none of the numbers indicate the Bucks are anything
more than a middling playoff team. The Bucks rank 11th in Net Rating
(1.2), with an offense that ranks 13th and a defense that ranks 11th.
They are good, maybe very good in spurts. But unless Kyle Kuzma revolutionizes
them or they get unexpected contributions from other guys down the stretch, 4th
to 6th in the East is where they will finish.
Notes
Getting a Look at the Full Roster: This will be the first game that the Clippers have had their full rotation intact since they made their deals at the trade deadline and signed Ben Simmons shortly thereafter. Thus, we have no real idea what Ty Lue’s rotations will look like. I gave some thoughts on what I’d do in this article, but it’s possible Ty Lue goes a completely different direction. The long and short of it is I’d expect a 10-man rotation with lots of quick subs and tons of different lineups outside the start of the 1st and 3rd quarters. I don’t think Drew Eubanks will play, but he might. I think all three of Kris Dunn, Amir Coffey, and Nic Batum will see minutes alongside Ben Simmons, but one of them might be out of the rotation in this one. We will just have to see!
No KPJ Revenge Game: The Clippers will be up against Kevin Porter Jr. in this one, who served as the backup point guard for them for the first half of the season. As Clippers fans know, he’s the kind of player who’s mostly bad, but can get hot on certain nights and be frustratingly effective on awful shots. The Clippers have seen a lot of him in practice and on the court this year, and I’d hope they have the right strategy in place for him, namely to let him shoot open threes and bait him into taking a lot of contested midrange jumpers. If he hits them, he hits them, but I’ll be disappointed if the Clippers let him get to the rim with any consistency. Hopefully he has one of his many bad nights with inefficient shooting and turnovers and the Clippers resoundingly win his minutes.
Clippers vs Bucks Preview: Entering the Second Half of the Season
Robert Flom