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Clippers vs. Bucks Preview: What’s Up, Doc?
The Clippers will try to top one of their best wins of the season last night with an equally difficult road game in Milwaukee tonight against old coach Doc Rivers.
Game
Information
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, 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 – Ivica Zubac
Bucks: Damian Lillard – Malik Beasley – Jae Crowder – Giannis Antetokounmpo – Brook Lopez
Injuries
Clippers: Russell Westbrook Out (Hand)
Bucks: Khris Middleton Out (Ankle), Giannis Antetokounmpo Questionable (Achilles), Marjon Beauchamp Probable (Back), Chris Livingston Doubtful (Groin)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers
are coming off one of their best wins of the season, a massive road victory in
Minnesota that keeps them in the running for a top three seed. It was ugly, but
the Clippers played great defense when it mattered and countered a big early
run by the Wolves. They are now just one loss back of the Wolves and Nuggets and
two back of the Thunder, while remaining five losses ahead of the 5th
and 6th seeds. In short, if they can just continue to scratch out
wins at an even .500 pace, they should be able to hang onto the 4th
seed. If they want one of those top three seeds, however, they’ll need to be
much better than that in the last quarter of the season.
The
Antagonist
The Bucks
have won five in a row, albeit against a soft schedule, and are once more back
in the 2 seed in the East. The Bucks, like every other East team, are way
behind the Celtics, but they should be favorites to maintain that second-seed.
We can all joke about Doc Rivers (and I will), but he has absolutely turned
around the Bucks’ defense, which had been in the bottom third in the league and
is 5th
over their last 15 games. The Bucks have tightened up their transition defense
significantly, a big deal for an older team that lacks top-end athletes outside
of Giannis. Speaking of Giannis, the Greek Freak is the main reason this team
is a threat, as Khris Middleton remains out and Damian Lillard has continued a
down season (by his standards). With Giannis at his current MVP level, the
Bucks can beat any opponent on any given night.
Notes
Schedule Loss: The Clippers are playing a back-to-back and their third game in four nights, with travel on each leg of the journey. The Bucks, meanwhile, haven’t played since Friday, and have been able to relax at home. This is truly the definition of a schedule loss, so while the Clippers should not have that mindset, of course, this is one of the toughest games on their calendar across the entire season. If they look tired or run out of gas in the second half, it is what it is.
Old Friends in Milwaukee: The Bucks went from a team with minimal Clippers’ connections to one with a lot in just a month. In addition to bringing on Doc Rivers as head coach, the Bucks also traded for Pat Beverley at the deadline and picked up Danilo Gallinari off a buyout. Gallo doesn’t really play much as the effective last man in the rotation (he was more of a depth signing), but Pat Bev has been a real contributor (albeit in also fairly limited minutes) due to his defense, rebounding, shooting, and surehandedness with the ball. It’s always good to see those two, and hopefully they can be part of another deep playoff run in Milwaukee.
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