LA Clippers Host Golden State Warriors as DeMarcus Cousins Makes His Return

The LA Clippers’ rotation woes continue as they seek to break out of their four-game losing streak. The Golden State Warriors coming off of statement wins against the Nuggets and Pelicans is rough enough, but the return of DeMarcus Cousins threatens to set the Clippers on an even more dangerous path.

We all knew it was coming, and it’s finally here: Boogie is back. In 2019 thus far, the LA Clippers have been in a situation somewhere between “what are we doing” and “when it rains, it pours” with bad luck, bad defense, and bad rotations.

Some of these issues are merely a product of the team’s roster — a lack of a superstar has really come into focus after the mid-way mark, when teams that have that kind of talent start kicking into gear.

The prime example of that gearshift is none other than the Golden State Warriors, who, just a few days ago, absolutely dismantled the then-first in the West Denver Nuggets, winning 142-111 with an eye-popping 51 points in the first quarter, as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both logged 31 points in the game.

The Warriors then went on to their second game of a back-to-back and beat the Pelicans in a high-scoring shootout, 147-142. If this were any other team, we’d be talking about when they’d come back to Earth.

The Golden State Warriors are not like any other team, and today they’re going to go from four All-Stars in the starting rotation to five, with the addition of DeMarcus Cousins at center. Coming off of an Achilles injury, it’s anyone’s guess what the big man is capable of this season, but if he’s even 70% of his peak, the Clippers’ problems at the five are going to be exposed further.

We at Clipperholics have not been shy about our feelings over Avery Bradley’s continued turn in the starting rotation. While the starting rotation might change, it does not appear at all to be the case that Bradley will be coming off the bench anytime soon.

This is despite the fact that the most successful starting guards have been Patrick Beverley and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who, in their 7 games as the starters, went 6-1, winning their last five (including a Steph-less Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks, both in OT) before Doc Rivers inexplicably decided that Bradley would take the starting role from Beverley.

Doc has since said that he would like to find a way for Pat Bev and Bradley to get more playing time together, suggesting that Gilgeous-Alexander might find his way to the bench for a time. Shai has been struggling as of late, so the choice isn’t altogether out there, but exactly why Bradley continues to log a high average of minutes with “un-statable” play that doesn’t pass the eye test remains unclear to anyone who isn’t Doc Rivers.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Hot off his John Wick 3 trailer, Boban Marjanovic opposite Boogie on the floor would at least give us a show, tonight.
• Jerome Robinson has been called up, but as of this writing it’s anyone’s guess if the rookie guard is going to be active. And even if he is active, we won’t know if he’s going to get any minutes until he does. But if he is active, look to see him in garbage time.
• And as always: The Clippers starting rotation. Will Doc make a change, or are we simply doomed to continually repeat mistakes, despite having proof that previous rotations were already successful? (AGAIN: Pat Bev/Shai are 6-1!!! Why did this even change at all?)
• For this Clippers team to have any real chance at victory, Danilo Gallinari and Tobias Harris are going to need to get hot early. Any shooting struggles in the first half won’t be saved by Lou Williams in the second.

If you haven’t caught on, there’s not much to hope for in this game. The Warriors have started to lock in and look like the dominant beast they’ve been in seasons past, and are likely going to gleefully carve a path right through the heart of the season to make it clear that reports of their pending demise have been greatly exaggerated.

That they’ve started revving that engine and are introducing Boogie against, of all teams, the Clippers, is an awful hand that fate has dealt Los Angeles. But it seems only karmically fair that it happens to us. After all, we were the team that beat the Warriors when they were down one All-Star, prompting two other All-Stars on their team to begin a short but intense feud.