LA Clippers face tough road challenge against the Portland Trail Blazers

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Tobias Harris #34 of the LA Clippers drives to the basket on Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at Staples Center on November 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Tobias Harris #34 of the LA Clippers drives to the basket on Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at Staples Center on November 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The LA Clippers could have a difficult time tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers, a team that’s won five of its last six and sits third in the West.

The LA Clippers (6-4) travel to Portland tonight to take on the Trail Blazers (8-3), and they’re going to have to steal a win potentially without some of their best players.

Both Avery Bradley and Luc Mbah a Moute are out once again, though they should be nearing a return sooner rather than later. The story, though, could be Tobias Harris.

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Harris may sit tonight with an illness. He traveled with the team to Portland, but reportedly did not participate in today’s shootaround.

Missing Harris against a team as good as the Trail Blazers would be a harsh blow, especially considering he’s been the team’s leader in points in a majority of games this season. And with Mbah a Moute out as well, the Clippers would need to get creative with their lineups.

Of course, it’s expected that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander starts in place of Bradley once again. With Harris out, the Clippers could get super young and start Jerome Robinson at the two and slide Gilgeous-Alexander over to the three.

That probably won’t be the case though, and LA may look to give Montrezl Harrell his first start of the season and slide Danilo Gallinari over to small forward.

Assuming Harris plays through his illness, well, none of that matters. Portland will be a tough matchup regardless.

Up top, the Trail Blazers run two elite guards in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The two are averaging just under 50 combined points per game this season and are connecting on roughly 37 percent of their three point attempts.

Besides those two, Jusuf Nurkic poses the biggest threat to this Clippers team. He’s nearly averaging a double-double this season, with 15.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in 11 starts. Boban Marjanovic will likely be the one tasked with defending Nurkic, which is one of the more favorable matchups that Marjanovic will see this season.

On offense, the Clippers will need to step it up a notch. Portland boasts the NBA’s sixth-best defense, allowing just over 107 points per game. That’s roughly nine points less than LA is scoring this season.

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If Harris plays tonight, the Clippers will have a legitimate shot at taking down one of the West’s elite. Otherwise, LA will need an all-around effort to secure a win.