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Clippers vs Suns Preview: No Kawhi or Harden
The Clippers have lost two games in a row and now face a feisty Suns team without their two star players, as both Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are out tonight.
Game
Information
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
When: 6:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: Chris Paul – Bradley Beal – Derrick Jones Jr. – John Collins – Ivica Zubac
Heat: Jalen Green – Devin Booker – Ryan Dunn – Dillon Brooks – Mark Williams
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Ankle), James Harden Out (Personal), Jordan Miller Out (Hamstring), Kobe Sanders Out (Knee)
Suns: Jalen Green Questionable (Hamstring), Dillon Brooks Questionable (Groin)
The Big
Picture
Well, things seem a whole lot bleaker now than what I wrote the last game preview three days ago. The Clippers have dropped their last two games, with a brutal loss to the Heat on Monday and a blowout at the hands of the Thunder on Tuesday. Combine those defeats with Kawhi Leonard’s turned ankle against the Heat and subsequent absence Tuesday and tonight and you have a grim mood. Add on top of that Harden being out tonight for personal reasons (hopefully positive, like birth of a child or something) and its even worse. Even though the Suns aren’t very good, it’s tough to see the Clippers beating almost anyone without both Kawhi and Harden. The hope will be that their absences will not stretch long, and they can return for the home game against Phoenix on Saturday.
The
Antagonist
The Suns
have not been awful to start the season. They’re 3-5 and have been competitive in
most of their games. They’re slightly better on offense (22nd in the
NBA) compared to defense (24th), but not really good at anything.
Still, they have Devin Booker and relatively competent veterans around him, and
that’s enough to not be awful. Against a Clippers’ team without Kawhi and
Harden, and playing at home, they should be favorites to win. Most importantly for
the Clippers, the Suns have generally played hard all year, and that’s
something the Clippers have not shown as consistently.
Notes
Beal Boos: This will be Bradley Beal’s first game in Phoenix since the Suns waived him this summer, and I think we can expect a lot of boos for Beal, who did not have a very positive tenure in Phoenix. Hopefully Beal can take those boos as inspiration, as he will be the Clippers’ best perimeter creator in this one and will probably be asked to do a lot of scoring and playmaking. Even though the Clippers will miss Harden and Kawhi very badly, a possible silver lining is the increased reps for Beal, Chris Paul, and Bogi could theoretically get those guys going – something the Clips need in the worst way if they are to do anything this year.
Defense Bad: After boasting a top-five defense just about all of last season and winning most of their games on the defensive end, the Clippers have been shockingly shoddy on that side of the ball this year. The Clips rank 26th in defensive rating through seven games (not a large sample size, but not tiny either) ahead of such teams as the Kings, Pelicans, Nets, and Wizards. The eye test backs up the numbers: the Clippers look slow, not forceful, and discombobulated. As good as Kris Dunn is on defense, the difference between starting him and not starting him should not be the difference between the 3rd and 26th defense. The Clippers need to get it together on that end, or this season will not turn out as we all predicted.
Turnovers also Bad: The Clippers rank dead last in the NBA in turnover percentage, turning the ball over an astonishing 18.4% of their possessions. The next lowest is the Utah Jazz at 17.4%, and after that is Houston at 16.9%. The Clippers have added in a bunch of new pieces and are dealing with some injuries, but that level of giving the ball away is simply inexcusable for a team with this many seasoned vets. Just be less careless!