Tonight, the LA Clippers will face off against the Chicago Bulls at home in Staples Center. The red hot LA Clippers, possessors of the Western Conference 8th seed, look to take advantage of several days of rest and put the Bulls away.
The LA Clippers currently hold a 39-30 record and will look to make that 40-30 tonight when the Bulls come into town. Chicago is a young, hungry, yet lottery-bound team who will not go down easily.
Look forward to the matchup of LA’s Danilo Gallinari versus Chicago’s Lauri Markkanen. Gallinari will be returning to the lineup tonight after taking one-game rest earlier this week against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Luc Mbah a Moute will not play for the Clippers tonight. Chicago’s Zach LaVine will reenter the Bulls lineup. LaVine, a former Slam Dunk champion, will need to be contained around the rim.
The Clippers need to take care of business tonight and get the win. In what looks like an easy matchup for LAC, ESPN projects the Clippers have 84.2% chance of winning tonight’s game.
The Bulls, despite their lackluster 19-50 record, have been playing .500 basketball in their last twelve games. Six wins coming in just over a month. The Clippers cannot afford to underestimate the Bulls.
Expect for the Clippers to give younger players like Tyrone Wallace, Sindarius Thornwell, and/or Jerome Robinson more playing time tonight against what looks to be an easy opponent.
Perhaps even Justin Bibbs, whom the Clippers recently signed to a 10-day contract will get minutes tonight. If the Clippers build a large lead early on, the undrafted rookie may see some minutes in tonight’s action. Should he perform well, he may even fill the final spot on the Clippers roster that is currently vacant.
Lastly, Clipper Nation hopes to see a more efficient scoring night from Ivica Zubac than Tuesday night against Portland. Against the Trail Blazers, Zubac shot 4-15 from the field. While LA head coach Doc Rivers has stated the Zubac’s role is that of a rim protector, Zu needs to have some semblance of an offensive skillset.
Zubac struggled to finish around the rim and has yet to truly start finishing his shots/dunks with authority. This has been reportedly because the 7’1″ center is dealing with multiple hand injuries, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Finally, perhaps the worst news for Clipper Nation is that Soulja Boy will no longer be performing at the half time show, due to legal reasons. Well… no one will be “cranking that” in LA tonight.
Follow @ClipperholicsFS on Twitter for updates throughout tonight’s matchup!