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Danilo Gallinari will play tonight, but he won’t get much help

By Garrett Chorpenning

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14: Los Angeles Clippers Forward Danilo Gallinari (8) drives to the basket being guarded by New Orleans Pelicans Forward E'Twaun Moore (55) and New Orleans Pelicans Center Julius Randle (30) during a NBA game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 14: Los Angeles Clippers Forward Danilo Gallinari (8) drives to the basket being guarded by New Orleans Pelicans Forward E'Twaun Moore (55) and New Orleans Pelicans Center Julius Randle (30) during a NBA game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 14, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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LA Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari will make his return from a 10-day absence tonight, but with recent deadline moves, he won’t get much help.

After missing 10 games with an injury, Danilo Gallinari will finally make his return to the court tonight for the LA Clippers. It’s hard to say for sure who will be joining him on the court, though.

The LA Clippers made numerous roster moves today that resulted in the losses of Avery Bradley, Marcin Gortat and Milos Teodosic. Throw in Wednesday’s trade that saw Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott go to the Philadelphia 76ers, and LA’s roster looks like a shell of what it used to.

One of the additions from the Harris trade, Mike Muscala, has also been traded, reportedly to the Los Angeles Lakers.

That means the LA Clippers will only have nine guys available tonight when they go up against the Indiana Pacers, including Gallinari: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Jerome Robinson, Sindarius Thornwell, Tyrone Wallace, Johnathan Motley and Montrezl Harrell. Two-way center Angel Delgado may also join the team, but the situation is unclear at the moment.

New additions Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, JaMychal Green, Garrett Temple and Ivica Zubac will not yet be available, but could join the team on Saturday.

It’s probably safe to go ahead and chalk this one up as a loss right now.

As far as a starting unit goes, I would expect the Clippers to go with Gilgeous-Alexander, Beverley, Gallinari, Harrell and Motley. I would also expect the Clippers to go pretty heavy with the multi-guard lineups, seeing as that’s most of what they have available to them right now.

Saturday’s game against the Boston Celtics will give us a better idea of what the Clippers plan to do with their current group of guys for the rest of the season. Zubac is expected to be the new starting center for the remainder of the year, and Chander could start beside Gallinari once he returns from his injury.

Next. LA Clippers waive Marcin Gortat. dark

The LA Clippers will take the floor at 4:00 PM PST against the Indiana Pacers. Expect the backup guards and rookies to get plenty of run.

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