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Clippers vs. Sixers Preview: Paul George’s Return
The Clippers have their highest profile and most meaningful game of the season so far in former star Paul George’s first game in front of Clippers’ fans since he went to Philadelphia this summer.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:00 PM PT
How to Watch: ESPN, Watch ESPN
Projected Starting Lineups
Sixers: Tyrese Maxey – Kelly Oubre – Paul George – Caleb – Andre Drummond
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Terance Mann – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Sixers: Joel Embiid Out (Injury/Suspension)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), PJ Tucker (Away from TV), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League)
The Big Picture
The Clippers are now 3-4 after their comeback win over the Spurs on Monday, and have continued to solidify their standing as an excellent defense (7th) and poor offense (23rd). They are also closing up a five-game homestand that so far has resulted in just one win – despite rave reviews about the experience, the Clippers are not defending homecourt at the new Intuit Dome to this point. Still, it’s hard to be disappointed with the Clippers considering their talent disadvantages against most teams without Kawhi and the spirit (though not always execution) which they’ve played with so far.
The Antagonist
The Sixers have had a less than ideal start to the season. Superstar Joel Embiid has not played a game yet as he’s been rehabbing a knee injury (sound familiar?) and bombshell free agent acquisition Paul George just played his first game on Monday after missing the first five with a bone bruise in his knee. Despite refreshing their depth this summer with almost an entirely new team, the Sixers have struggled mightily with Embiid and PG out, winning a single game due to Tyrese Maxey heroics and dropping several others in blowouts. The Sixers are 26th in offense and 21st in defense, putting them at 27th in Net Rating – they have not been better than their record so far.
Notes
PG’s Return: This game is on ESPN for one reason – it is Paul George’s return to Los Angeles after five years in a Clippers’ jersey. PG, of course, left under somewhat acrimonious circumstances this summer, and left a bad taste in the mouth of fans with his disappointing performance in the 2024 playoffs. He is going to want to prove that the Clippers were wrong for letting him walk this summer and for not giving him the max contract he wanted. The Clippers, in turn, will want to get this win and outplay their former star. I’ll be curious to see what reception PG receives – the Clippers will play a tribute video, but I would guess he receives mostly if not entirely boos in this one. I’d love if Derrick Jones Jr. shut him down again, ad would be appreciative if things got chippy. We know this one means more than an average game, and I’d like to see it treated that way.
Terance Struggling: Terance Mann has had a tough start to the year, averaging just 5.4 points on 39.5% shooting overall and 16.7% from three (2-12) while averaging 3 fouls in 23 minutes per game. His defense has been fine enough outside of the fouling, but Terance has not been able to get his threes to fall and more importantly has not been willing to take enough of them. The Clippers have been outshot from three in every game until the Spurs’ win, and have to get three point shots from elsewhere on their roster besides Harden and Norm. The Clippers should try to get Terance going with a couple easy looks and hopefully he can have a big game against a porous Philly defense. The Clippers can go elsewhere on their roster instead of Terance – Kris Dunn, Amir Coffey, or Nic Batum – but they need him to be better and more confident.
Small Ball Battle: While the Sixers start Andre Drummond and play him a lot, the Sixers go small with their second unit squad, and sometimes play small for extended stretches. The Clippers have played Kai Jones in the first half of games this year, but have mostly gone away from him in second halves. For good reason. Jones has been brutal this season, and I’m waiting for the seemingly inevitable move when the Clippers go away from him entirely. Because the Sixers go small themselves, it might be easier for Ty Lue to go small as well. I’ll be interested to see how much Kai plays in this one.
Clippers vs. Sixers Preview: Paul George’s Return
Robert Flom