213hoops.com
Clippers vs Knicks Preview: Another Road Trip Begins
The Clippers begin their final major road trip of the year in New York City against the Knicks.
Game
Information
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
When: 4:30 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Knicks: Cam Payne – Josh Hart – Mikal Bridges – OG Anunoby – Karl-Anthony Towns
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Knicks: Deuce McBride Questionable (Groin), Mitchell Robinson Questionable (Ankle), Jalen Brunson Out (Ankle), Ariel Hukporti Out (Knee)
Clippers: James Harden Questionable (Foot), Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Seth Lundy Out (G-League), Patrick Baldwin Out (G-League)
The Big
Picture
Despite their tough loss to the Thunder on Sunday, the Clippers remain right in the thick of things in the West due to some fortunate luck around them, as the Timberwolves, Lakers, and Nuggets all lost on Monday. And, while the Thunder loss was disappointing considering OKC didn’t have Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams, the Clippers’ effort and defense was there – the shots just didn’t fall. Thus, the Clippers are still feeling pretty good with 11 games to go, with the major question being the health of James Harden, who came up a bit hobbled in the Thunder game and is questionable for this one. Hopefully his injury is minor and he will be good to go, if not in this game, then at least in the Clippers’ contest against the Nets on Friday.
The
Antagonist
The Knicks
are one of the playoff teams with the least pressure in the standings, as they
are far out of reach of the Celtics in 2nd (eight back), but are 2.5
games up on the Pacers in 4th and 4.5 games up on the Bucks in 5th.
Thus, they are most likely going to get the 3 seed, and have no real worry of
falling any lower than 4th. Honestly, 4th might be
preferable for them, as it puts them in the Cavs bracket in the playoffs
instead of the Celtics, and the Celtics are a much worse matchup for the
Knicks. Regardless, the Knicks have generally been the 3rd best team
in the East all year, and have stayed afloat quite well even with star Jalen
Brunson out the past couple weeks. The Knicks’ strengths are simple: a dominant
go-to scorer in Karl-Anthony Towns, two dynamic wing players in Mikal Bridges
and OG Anunoby, a do-everything role player par excellence in Josh Hart, and
just enough veterans around them to get by. The Knicks remain great on offense
and not very good on defense, which plays well into the Clippers’ hands, but
with Thibs coaching you know the effort will be there each and every night,
making the Knicks a consistently tough out.
Notes
Injuries a Major Factor: This one might end up coming down to who’s available. Neither Deuce McBride nor Mitchell Robinson played last night against the Mavs, though it’s possible they were held out specifically because the Clippers are a tougher opponent on the second night of a back-to-back. If they can’t go, an already thin Knicks team gets much, much thinner. On the Clippers’ side of things, I don’t think I need to convince anyone of how important James Harden has been to this team. If he can’t play, and the Knicks’ guys can, the Clippers will probably face an uphill battle. If Harden is out but so are the Knicks’ players, this is a game the Clippers should probably win.
Figuring Out Rotations: The Clippers have turned to tinkering with their fully healthy rotation. After starting and playing a key role when Norm Powell was out, Nic Batum saw just 5 minutes (his lowest total of the season when playing) against the Thunder, with those minutes going to Derrick Jones Jr., Norm, and Ben Simmons among others. Kris Dunn’s role has also declined in recent games, with Dunn frequently receiving extended shifts in the 1st and 3rd quarters only and just brief stretches in the 2nd and 4th. With 11 games to go, the Clippers are running out of time to get a rotation finalized entering the playoffs, and I do wonder whether we see the Clips eventually cut the rotation down to nine or if they stick with 10 the rest of the regular season. There are still three more sets of back-to-backs as well, which means three games that will not have one of Ben Simmons or Kawhi Leonard available. We will just have to see how the rest of the schedule plays out.
Clippers vs Knicks Preview: Another Road Trip Begins
Robert Flom