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Clippers vs Thunder Preview: Toughest Game of the Year
The Clippers travel to OKC in what was the most challenging game on their calendar even before the news that James Harden is out due to injury.
Game
Information
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: NBA TV, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected
Starting Lineups
Clippers: Bogdan Bogdanovic – Kris Dunn – Kawhi Leonard – John Collins – Ivica Zubac
Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Cason Wallace – Lu Dort – Jalen Williams – Chet Holmgren
Injuries
Clippers: James Harden Out (Calf), Bradley Beal Out (Hip), Derrick Jones Jr. Out (Knee), Chris Paul Out (Not with team), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Knee)
Thunder: Isaiah Hartenstein Out (Rest), Jaylin Williams Out (Heel), Nikola Topic Out (Cancer), Thomas Sorber Out (Knee)
The Big
Picture
The Clippers have lost four games in a row, falling to a tie with the Sacramento Kings for the 13th spot in the Western Conference. Perhaps even more embarrassingly, there are just two teams in the entire NBA with worse records: the 5-22 Pelicans and 4-20 Wizards. That the Clippers are right down there with the true dregs of the NBA despite their veteran roster and preseason expectations is an organizational catastrophe, especially as we are now at the one-third mark of the NBA season. Their Net Rating is 25th in the league, ahead of the Wizards, Pelicans, Kings, Pacers, and Jazz, meaning the underlying indicators are only very slightly better than the actual record. The defense remains embarrassingly bad (26th), and until that improves the Clippers just won’t win many games.
The
Antagonist
The Thunder are coming off a disappointing loss as well. Unlike the Clippers, it’s only their second disappointing loss of the season. The Thunder are 24-2, have the best Net Rating in NBA history, and are undefeated at home. Even with a couple losses on their resume, they will be favorites in almost every game they play in the rest of the season, except maybe road contests against the other best teams in the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is neck-and-neck with Jokic for early-season MVP, Chet Holmgren has leveled up, Ajay Mitchell is a steal, and the roster is extremely deep in rotation caliber players. Even discounting Chet and Jalen Johnson, you could make credible cases for Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe as being better than any Clippers’ player after Harden, Kawhi, and Zu. It’s an embarrassment of riches for the best team in the league.
Notes
No Harden: James Harden will miss his second game of the season, and it will be
his first miss due to injury. Apparently, his status for Saturday night against
the Lakers is up in the air as well. The Clippers should get a boost in defense
with Harden out, but the damage to their offense would be catastrophic even if
they weren’t playing the best defense in the NBA. I’d guess Bogdan Bogdanovic
starts, but it’s possible RayJ Dennis gets thrown into the fire as a more “traditional”
point guard option. If the Clippers can even be respectable in this game
without Harden, it would count as a moral victory of some kind. Let’s just hope
Harden’s calf heals up quickly, because their situation would go from “desperately
bad” to “utterly hopeless” if he were to miss real time.
Clippers vs Thunder Preview: Toughest Game of the Year
Robert Flom