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Clippers vs Wizards Preview: Securing the Easy Win
The Clippers will seek to get back to their winning ways tonight against the woeful Washington Wizards.
Game Information
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
When: 4:00 PM PT
How to Watch: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Clippers: James Harden – Kris Dunn – Amir Coffey – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac
Wizards: Malcolm Brogdon – Kyshawn George – Kyle Kuzma – Bilal Coulibaly – Alex Sarr
Injuries
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Norm Powell Questionable (Hamstring), Mo Bamba Questionable (Knee), Kobe Brown Questionable (Back), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League), Cam Christie Out (G-League)
Wizards: Jordan Poole Doubtful (Hip), Saddiq Bey Out (Knee), Tristan Vukcevic Out (Knee)
The Big Picture
The Clippers are coming off their biggest blowout loss of the season, a drubbing at the hands of the Celtics. However, that was also the toughest scheduled game of the year, a back-to-back on the road against one of the three best teams in the league with a terrific homecourt advantage. The Clippers can acknowledge their mistakes in that game – some sloppiness on defense, bad turnovers, hesitancy on offense – while still recognizing that game was probably always going to be a loss against a superior team. Hopefully they can right the ship in this one.
The Antagonist
The Wizards are 2-14, making them the worst team in the NBA
by record. And their statistics back up the record, as the Wizards possess the
29th ranked offense and 30th ranked defense in the
league, giving them the lowest Net Rating in the NBA as well. In short, they’re
abysmal at just about everything. Jordan Poole is probably their best player
when healthy, and while he’s having a very nice bounce back season, that tells
you all you need to know about the franchise. That’s not to say the Wizards don’t
have talent – Bilal Coulibaly is having a breakout second season, #2 pick Alex
Sarr flashes monstrous potential on defense, and fellow lottery rookie Bub Carrington
is a promising ballhandler and scorer – but it is very young and not cohesive.
On the right night they will look competitive, but they’ve gotten blown out
more often than not this season.
Notes
Clippers Killer Jonas: The Wizards might be awful, but they have an all-time Clippers’ killer on their roster in Jonas Valanciunas. Jonas’ stats are down across the board as he’s coming off the bench and playing a limited role, but his advanced numbers remain good, and he can definitely still play. Jonas has taken only six threes this season, but he’s made more than that against the Clippers in single games, so we know that his three-point stats don’t mean anything against the Clips. Jonas is one of the few players on the Wizards who can take over a game for stretches, so the Clippers will need to do a good job of keeping him under wraps.
Be Aggressive: The Wizards are competitive – it’s still too early in the season for true tanking to set in – but can be blown out and resort to bad basketball if pressed. The Clippers need to take the reins on both ends. On offense, they should be able to get into the lane consistently against the Wizards’ porous defense, and should be able to finish inside. On defense, they can play tight pressure against the Wizards’ subpar ballhandlers knowing that there isn’t a ton of shooting to punish them. If the Clippers can get a big lead in the first half, they can keep their foot on the gas and make this an easy win. They aren’t more talented than most teams in the NBA, but they have more talent, more experienced talent, and better fitting pieces than the Wizards. This should be a win, even on the road.
Clippers vs Wizards Preview: Securing the Easy Win
Robert Flom