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Clippers vs Timberwolves Game Preview: Thanksgiving Hangover or No?
The Clippers are looking to keep the positive Thanksgiving vibes going on a trek into Minneapolis against the slumping Timberwolves.
Game Information
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
When: 4:30 PM PT
How to Watch: ESPN, FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Amir Coffey – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac
Wolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Norm Powell Questionable (Hamstring), Kobe Brown Out (Back), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)
Wolves: Joe Ingles Out (Calf)
The Big Picture
Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, the Clippers
are 12-8, putting them on pace for a 49-win campaign, which would be a shocking
result without Kawhi Leonard. Their defense has risen to 5th in the
NBA, while their offense has settled in at 22nd, which isn’t great
but has been enough to get the job done. They are winning as a team, as they’ve
been able to survive extended absences of not just Kawhi, but leading scorer
Norm Powell and backup center Mo Bamba. It’s been a fun, enjoyable group with a
couple notable exceptions – cough, Kevin Porter Jr. and rotation player Kai
Jones cough – that plays hard and has only really felt outclassed by the
Celtics and Rockets. There’s a ton of season left to go, but this team is
legitimately tough and hard to deal with.
The Antagonist
The Wolves, by contrast, have had a very disappointing
season that has seen fans booing the team at recent home games. After making
the Western Conference Finals last year and hoping for a repeat this season,
the Wolves are just 8-10 to start the year, with a 13th ranked
offense and 12th ranked defense. Being close to top 10 on both sides
of the ball suggests things aren’t all that bad, and the Wolves do have a
positive point differential. But things look worse than that on the court, with
Julius Randle not meshing well with Rudy Gobert or Anthony Edwards on offense
and the team greatly missing Karl-Anthony Towns’ rebounding and size on
defense. The Wolves definitely have the talent to turn things around, and there
are games when they look very good. But Mike Conley’s age, Jaden McDaniels’
inability to shoot, and Donte DiVincenzo’s regression after a career year are
all danger signs for the Wolves, and it remains to be seen if they can be
overcome.
Notes
Winning the Turnover Battle: The Wolves actually score the ball fairly efficiently (8th in True Shooting) but have an average offense because they turn the ball over at the 23rd worst rate in the NBA. The Clippers are in a similar boat, as their offense is 16th in True Shooting but 28th in giving the ball away. Thus, if the Clippers can just keep their turnovers down while forcing their usual number of turnovers on the other end, they stand a very good chance of winning. Easier said than done, of course, but it is a relatively straightforward path to victory.
Harden’s Shooting Momentum: James Harden has stacked three of his most efficient shooting performances of the season back-to-back, culminating in his awesome 43-point outing against the hapless Wizards on Wednesday. The Wolves are a different animal entirely than the Wizards, even with their slippage on defense this year, but Harden is 13-26 from three over the past three games and is very hard to stop when he gets rolling from deep. He will certainly not keep shooting at that clip forever, but if he continues to roll for another few games, he can help push the Clippers further over .500. The Wolves do have a bevy of defenders to throw at him – Ant Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker – so a downswing would be understandable. But maybe the Beard can continue to surprise.
Miller Time: Jordan Miller has continued to impress. In the five games since he’s entered the rotation, he’s averaging 9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.5% from three. He’s still a bit raw on defense, yet the tools flash bright, and the effort is never in question. On offense, Millers’ decisiveness in shooting, passing, or driving stands in stark contrast to two of his bench counterparts – Kevin Porter Jr. and Terance Mann – and have allowed him to be effective even against other team’s real rotations. It’s going to be very hard to take him out of the rotation even when Norm does return, and I think cases could be made that he should play over Mann (not what I’d do) or Porter Jr. (yes) in a healthy rotation.
Clippers vs Timberwolves Game Preview: Thanksgiving Hangover or No?
Robert Flom