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Clippers vs Spurs Preview: The Road Trip Continues
The Clippers will look to shake off a poor effort on Monday night against the Suns against a competitive and feisty San Antonio Spurs squad.
Game
Information
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
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
Spurs: Chris Paul – Devin Vassell – Harrison Barnes – Jeremy Sochan – Victor Wembanyama
Injuries
Clippers: Kris Dunn Out (Knee), Cam Christie Out (Ankle), Kai Jones Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team)
Spurs: Sidy Cissoko Out (Concussion), Riley Minix Out (Shoulder)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers’
loss on Monday has been lessened by losses by the Lakers and Nuggets, but it
doesn’t erase the sting of that defeat. Playing against a decent Suns team on the
road is certainly not a gimme, but the Clippers really just did not show up
ready to play against a division and postseason rival, and that’s not something
we have seen much this year. The Suns were able to do whatever they wanted on
offense outside of a stretch in the 3rd quarter, with the Clippers
lacking in physicality, energy, and execution. Mason Plumlee was a +22 in his
26 minutes off the Suns’ bench, for god’s sakes! That just can’t happen in the
year 2025. The Clippers made valiant pushes at times, but the lack of any bench
production (eight points between five players, with six of them from Amir
Coffey) and the shaky defense doomed them. Hopefully the Clips come out with
more zip tonight.
The
Antagonist
The Spurs have fallen from their perch in the Western Conference postseason race to the outside looking in. Currently in 12th, the Spurs are, however, just three losses back of the Clippers in 6th and are clearly close enough to make a run back into the playoff picture. Advanced metrics, however don’t look too kindly on the Spurs – they rank 20th in the NBA in Net Rating at -1.8, below all of the West teams above them in the standings. The Spurs could absolutely make win-now moves before the trade deadline, and if they do pull off a De’Aaron Fox move, for example, could definitely surge into the thick of things in the West. For now, most of their roster is still too young to be ready for serious games, and the Spurs are too mediocre at everything (17th on offense, 18th on defense) to be ready for action. Wemby is already a top-seven NBA player but the rest of the team is just not at his level yet.
Notes
Better
Bench Minutes: The
Clippers’ bench has been up-and-down this year, to put it kindly. However, they
should hopefully be able to outplay the Spurs’ bench, which has not been a particularly
effective group. The Spurs, in fact, generally look lost when Wembanyama and
Chris Paul are not on the floor, and the Clippers need to win those minutes by significant
margins to get a comfortable win. In close games, Wemby can take over – and Chris
Paul can still do clutch-time Chris Paul things even at his age. If the
Clippers receive actual production from their bench, it will go a long way.
That starts with better three-point shooting (the bench was 0-9 from deep on
Monday) but also includes pace and overall energy. I would really like to see “Less
Bamba”. I feel bad for ragging on Mo, but he just has not been good, and I’d
rather see the Clippers go small most of the time. Maybe Wemby’s presence will
demand Mo off the bench, but I’d like to see what Nic Batum can do on his French
countryman protégé.
Clippers vs Spurs Preview: The Road Trip Continues
Robert Flom