Lou Williams was the MVP in the LA Clippers’ previous win over the San Antonio Spurs this season. How will they respond without him?
The LA Clippers are currently in the midst of their worst streak of basketball since the season began, and the upcoming schedule doesn’t appear to let up anytime soon. After tonight’s matchup in San Antonio, the Clippers will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the surging Thunder, and then return home to play the Portland Trail Blazers for the last time before the All-Star break.
Based on the way they’ve been playing lately, the Clippers won’t have a chance in any of those games — unless they can find a way to turn their luck around tonight against the Spurs, who’ve won three straight at home.
Los Angeles has won just two of its last six games, with losses against Dallas, Memphis, Miami and Toronto. Those are some solid teams, some of which are streaking in the right direction. But many would argue that the Clippers are more talented than all but one of those teams, and had it not been for some lackluster play, LA could’ve come out on top in all four of those contests.
In those four losses, Los Angeles gave up 113.5 points per game and scored just 98.3 of their own. Star forward Tobias Harris has played well, but has been more inconsistent than we’ve seen throughout the rest of the season. In the previous six games, he’s scoring nearly 19 points per game, but converting 25 percent of his looks from three-point range.
The offensive plague that’s taken over the Clippers has even stretched to the bench, which has been the league’s most efficient unit by far. Montrezl Harrell, perhaps LA’s best bench performer, has actually looked human lately. On top of that, Lou Williams is out with a hamstring injury that may take up to two weeks to recover.
Williams was LA’s MVP in their previous win over the Spurs this season, a five-point victory at home. His 23 points were a team-high, followed closely by Danilo Gallinari‘s 19 and Harris’ 18.
Rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be called upon to lead tonight’s victory in Williams’ absence. He’s been playing tremendous basketball as of late, highlighted by a 16-point performance in a narrow victory over the Phoenix Suns. His offensive style should be effective against San Antonio, and could serve as his first true breakout performance.
The LA Clippers will take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 5:30 PM PST.