After Historic Comeback, LA Clippers Face Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors
By Matt Chong
Less than 24 hours after coming back from a franchise-record 25 point deficit to win against the Detroit Pistons, the LA Clippers will take on Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors.
On Saturday afternoon against the Pistons, the LA Clippers came out of the gates slow, to say the least. Despite that, they still came back from a 25-point deficit to win, 111-101. They’ll need to do a much better job on Super Bowl Sunday when they head up to Toronto to face the 37-16 Raptors.
Much like the Clippers, Toronto has been sputtering as of late, losing three of their last four games. That said, LA will need to come out firing if they hope to have a chance at victory in Scotiabank Arena.
Kawhi Leonard is posting career numbers, averaging 27.6pts/7.9reb/3.2ast, and the Clippers didn’t even have to worry about him the last time the two teams met in Staples Center. The Clippers lost that game 123-99. Needless to say, The Klaw makes the Raptors an entirely different animal.
With three-point shooting threats at all positions on the floor (the Raptors tend to run small with Serge Ibaka at center), the Clippers may find it tough to play help defense off of any one player. Unfortunately, the Clippers also lack someone who can really lock down Leonard one-on-one. That will likely mean being forced into the occasional double-team. Being that the Raptors are very good at swinging the ball around to the open man, the Clippers’ defensive rotations will need to be sharp.
A lesser-known player that it would behoove the Clippers to keep track of would be the lanky Cameroonian, Pascal Siakam. The 6’9″ power forward is averaging career bests of 15.4pts/6.9reb/2.9ast while shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Siakam represents a very versatile threat, with whom the Clippers’ bigs will really need to work hard to stick with.
One thing that the Clippers do have going in their favor is that Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas remains out with an injury to his hand. In the last matchup against LA, Valanciunas put up 16pts/5reb/2stl and even knocked down a three. Versatile bigs like Valanciunas tend to hurt the Clippers, so they should be happy to see backup Greg Monroe in his stead.
Additionally, Toronto’s All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry is mired in a shooting slump, going 17-47 (36 percent) from the field in his last four games. Given his track record, the Clippers shouldn’t count on that to continue, but it sure wouldn’t hurt their chances on gameday.
On the flip side, Clippers forward Tobias Harris was noticeably off in their game against the Pistons, even having to be treated in the locker room for a strained shoulder mid-game. It was later revealed that he had been dealing with an injury sustained against the Lakers, which was reaggravated prior to Saturday’s game against Detroit.
Tobias Harris hurt his right shoulder Thursday defending a drive by LeBron, then reaggravated the injury in warmups. By that time, he said, he figured he might as well play.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) February 3, 2019
If Harris isn’t able to provide his usual scoring punch, the rest of the team will have their work cut out for them. Already being without Danilo Gallinari, a win on Sunday will require contributions from players up and down the roster.
Toronto has listed Valanciunas and Malachi Richardson as OUT. The Clippers will likely remain without Luc Mbah a Moute and Gallinari. There’s no official status on Harris, but given that he was able to continue playing against the Pistons, it would be reasonable to assume that he’ll be available against the Raptors.
Next. What will the Clippers look like when Gallinari returns?. dark
The LA Clippers and Toronto Raptors will tip-off at 12:00 PM PST from Scotiabank Arena. The game will be available to watch on Fox Sports Prime Ticket, NBA League Pass, and Clippers CourtVision.