C.J. Williams, Tyrone Wallace, and Danilo Gallinari Near Return

The Los Angeles Clippers may have some familiar faces with them soon: C.J. Williams, Tyrone Wallace and Danilo Gallinari.

As the Los Angeles Clippers (38-34) struggle to cling to the periphery of the Western Conference playoff race, there is some good news on the way. All three of Tyrone Wallace, C.J. Williams, and Danilo Gallinari are eyeing a return to the Clippers’ line-up on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Clippers have lost five of their last six games, sliding all the way to tenth in the Western Conference standings, and are two and a half games behind Utah (41-32) for the eight seed. With each of the ten games remaining in the Clippers’ schedule critical to keeping their playoff hopes alive, positive contributions from all three players are much needed.

The Clippers are once again snake bitten by injury, which has necessitated heavy, taxing minutes on the starting five during the most important stretch of the team’s season. Throughout the recent slump, Doc Rivers has been utilizing what amounts to an eight-man rotation.  Last night, in the Clippers’ heartbreaking loss to the Pacers, the team had battled back to tie the game in the fourth quarter, only to have Tobias Harris turn the ball over twice in the final minute.

It’s worth noting that Harris played 39 minutes that night and had been averaging over 37 minutes per game in four of the previous five games, the other being a 25-minute outing against Minnesota where Doc Rivers pulled his starters with over seven minutes left in regulation. Both Austin Rivers and Lou Williams, two of the team’s main offensive contributors, have also played heavy minutes during this stretch.

Lou Williams, who has already played 333 more minutes this season than all of last year, has averaged 33.3 minutes over the last six games, while Austin Rivers has averaged 37.7 minutes, which is almost four minutes above his season average.

Both C.J. Williams and Tyrone Wallace can help alleviate some of the stress that is being placed on the Clippers’ offensive linchpins. Williams had an impressive stretch in the five games before going down with an injury in January. He had averaged 11.4 points per game on 54.8% shooting and 42.1% from deep during that span. Wallace impressed throughout his time with the Clippers, averaging 10.1 points per game on 46.1% shooting. He is currently fifth in the G-League in scoring, averaging 22.6 points per game on 51% shooting.

Williams and Wallace give Doc Rivers more weapons to work with offensively, with Williams’ outside shooting and Wallace’s ability to attack the rim, and defensively as they are both able defenders. Most importantly, they will absorb minutes on the wing, keeping the starters’ legs fresher during the final stretch of the season.

Gallinari has been sorely missed in the starting lineup since he went down in late February. In the seven games prior to the injury, Gallinari had been averaging 20.3 points per game on 48.9% shooting and 42.5% beyond the arc. His combination of shooting and play-making was an integral part of the Clippers’ offensive focus and gave the team another reliable option in crunch time.

FiveThirtyEight currently has the Clippers’ playoff odds at 12%. Eight of the Clippers’ final ten games come against teams over .500. The team has struggled mightily against such teams, going 13-28 against them this year. That is the worst mark of any team currently in the Western Conference playoff hunt. In not stripping the team down for assets at the deadline, the Clippers’ brass solidified their desire to make a playoff push to finish the season. The team, and its fans, hope that these three players can give the Clippers the spark needed to propel the team back into the playoff picture.