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Clippers vs. Hawks Preview: Closing the Road Trip
The last stop of the Clippers’ Grammys road trip is Atlanta, where the Clippers will take on the Hawks, who are having a disappointing year but are on a four game winning streak. Check out more on this match up below:
Game Information
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
When: 4:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570
Tickets: For great deals on Clippers tickets, check out Barry’s Tickets!
Projected Starters
Clippers: James Harden – Terance Mann – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Hawks: Trea Young – Dejounte Murray – Jalen Johnson – Garrison Mathews – Onyeka Okongwu
Injuries
Clippers: Moussa Diabate, Out (Hand)
Hawks: Vit Krejci, Out (Shoulder); Clint Capela, Out (Adductor); Mouhamed Gueye, Out (Back); De’Andre Hunter, Questionable (Knee); Saddiq Bey, Questionable (Ankle)
The Big Picture
The Clippers are walking into another game with a significant talent advantage. Although the Hawks have a talented back court, the Clippers have better players in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden, who are also much bigger and defensively adept than the Hawks’ best players. Moreover, the Hawks have been, simply, bad this year—including at home, where they have a losing record (12-13). So long as the Clippers come out focused (something, admittedly, that has been an issue lately), the Clippers should have no problem taking down the Hawks.
The Antagonist
The Clippers are now 5-1 on the Grammys trip, but there have been a few ugly wins that reveal how much more work the Clippers have in front of them, especially on defense. And the Hawks’s offense will test the Clippers’ defense: league wide, they are third in points per game, fifth in second chance points, fourth in pace, and are one of the best mid-range shooting teams in the league. The pace metric stands in stark contrast to the Clippers, who are one of the five slowest teams in the league. This will be an especially important metric to watch as the Clippers are on the second night of a back-to-back.
Notes
Zubac’s Reintroduction: On Sunday, Ivica Zubac only played 18 minutes after returning from his calf injury. We can expect that number to stay pretty low for the next few games, but another thing to track will be how Theis is affected. Against the Heat, Plumlee played 26 minutes and Theis was a DNP-CD. Whether that will be the case going forward is unclear, although it looks like Plumlee will be given the benefit of the doubt.
Rooting Interests: On Monday, the Clippers want: Cavaliers over Kings; Hornets over Lakers; 76ers over Mavericks; Nets over Warriors; and Raptors over Pelicans. Unfortunately, the Raptors blew a chance to help the Clippers, giving up a comeback win to the Thunder on Sunday. The Clippers are currently third in the West but have the same number of losses as the first and second seeds.
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Clippers vs. Hawks Preview: Closing the Road Trip
Kenneth Armstrong