LA Clippers: Team looks for strong youth performance versus Shanghai

In their second and final game in Hawaii, the LA Clippers are looking for another strong performance out of their young players versus Shanghai.

Before the team prepares to bid adieu to Hawaii, they must first play the Shanghai Sharks. A loss to the Houston Rockets started the preseason for the LA Clippers, but they should expect a better night against the Chinese Basketball Association team.

As a heads up, the game has an early tip at 1 pm local time. This means that in just about an hour from now, the Clips will take the court. That’s 4 pm PST/7 pm EST if you don’t want to do the math.

Inactives

We already know that neither Kawhi Leonard nor Paul George will play in this one. I feel for the fans in Hawaii that won’t get to see them play in person this year, but there’s no need to risk injury. Lou Williams may also be inactive tonight, per Doc Rivers. Expect other vets like Patrick Beverley, JaMychal Green and even Montrezl Harrell to have limited minutes.

Youth Movement

If none of those guys end up playing long, we can expect big minutes for the young guys. Terance Mann should again draw a lot of our attention.

A second-round pick, Mann has already impressed coaches, fans and even his teammates. Doc Rivers has already noted that he gets the feeling that the team wants to see more of him on the court. Mann had a team-high twenty-five minutes in the team’s first preseason game versus the Rockets and could easily get more tonight.

Landry Shamet could also see some extended minutes at the point – something he has worked at this summer.

Jerome Robinson, who struggled in the first outing, could also use some extended time tonight. A lottery pick last season, Robinson looks like he needs more time to build his confidence. He was unable to crack the regular rotation last season and if he continues as he did in game one, it’ll be tough to see him doing so again this season.

Expectations

This is the type of preseason game fans have to temper their expectations for. With the opponent being from a different league, you cannot expect a tough level of competition. For a frame of reference, the Rockets played Shanghai already, defeating them 140-71.

What you can expect is a confidence booster. For starters, the team will inevitably pick up their first win of the preseason. Even though it’s against a lesser team, coming together for a victory will still help chemistry. The game will also help the confidence of individuals, such as the aforementioned Jerome Robinson. Players can work on the things that they need to against a live defense.

Secondly, this is a great time to see more of the fringe guys. Yes, the Clippers roster is all but set, but they can get a lot of good evaluation of G-League players. Players on two-way contracts like Amir Coffey and Jonathan Motley can try their best to impress the coaching staff. While that might not mean much now, it could once their two-way deals expire and the team has to make a decision.

Don’t forget to tune in at 4 pm PST/7 pm EST. The game will be on Fox Sports Prime Ticket and on NBA TV. As always, make sure to follow along with us on Twitter and to check back here for postgame thoughts!