After winning in Houston, the LA Clippers look to keep the momentum going as Austin Rivers returns to town with the Washington Wizards.
After a huge win against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, the Los Angeles Clippers return home to face the Washington Wizards. Here are a few things you should look for tonight.
Guard Play
As our own Garrett Chorpenning recently noted, opposing guards have greatly struggled against the Clippers in this young season. With the best duo the team will have faced so far coming into town tonight, that will absolutely need to hold true again if LA wants to come out with a win.
John Wall and Bradley Beal have very different play-styles from one another, but can both go off on any night. In their five games, Wall is putting up 21.2 points to go along with 7.6 assists. Beal is scoring a career-high 24.2 points on 46.9% shooting.
The duo will definitely put Clamp City to the test tonight and may be more motivated than usual after calling out teammates for lack of talking and effort. If they are going to lead the charge to change Washington’s locker room attitude, then expect them to come ready to play tonight.
Speaking of players who were called out by Wall and Beal…
Austin Rivers Returns
Tonight’s game marks the first time Austin Rivers will face the LA Clippers after spending six years with the team. Although the fan base always remained split on him, Austin proved his legitimacy on the court and even gave us the memorable playoff effort against the Portland Trailblazers after having his eye cut open.
Austin responded to Wall and Beal’s criticisms, so he may be coming in with not only motivation to play well against his former club, but also to prove he isn’t part of the reason the Wizards are struggling.
Gortat’s Revenge?
As part of the deal that sent Austin to D.C., Marcin Gortat was brought to the Clippers. His tenure with the Wizards did not end amicably, most notably due to his confrontations with John Wall. The two square off for the first time tonight and there may be some bad blood leftover from last season.
Gortat, despite starting, hasn’t made any notable impacts on the box score so far. His highest scoring output came against Houston in their first game, where he scored 8 points. Gortat may be ready to prove himself tonight, especially with the Wizards having injuries at the center position. Dwight Howard has yet to suit up for the team and Ian Mahinmi was a game-time decision on Friday against the Kings, although he did play.
On a lesser note, Mike Scott, who signed with LA in free agency also played for the Wizards last season.
Injuries
As mentioned above, Ian Mahinmi did play on Friday, so he will likely get the start again tonight. Dwight Howard didn’t travel with the team on their west coast trip.
For the Clippers, Luc Mbah a Moute is still being listed as questionable at the time of writing with a sore left knee.
Where to Watch
Tip-off: 9:30 PM EST/ 6:30 PM PST
You can watch the game on Fox Sports West, NBA League Pass or Fubo.
Make sure to follow along on Twitter for all your in-game coverage and to check back here tomorrow for our post-game takeaways!