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The LA Clippers’ young guards need to prove something Friday

By Ryan Snellings

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 19: Jerome Robinson #1, and Terance Mann #14 of the LA Clippers arrive to the LA Clippers Feed The Community Event on October 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Will Navarro/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 19: Jerome Robinson #1, and Terance Mann #14 of the LA Clippers arrive to the LA Clippers Feed The Community Event on October 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Will Navarro/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With injuries piling up, the LA Clippers’ young guards will have to prove that they belong on Friday when the team visits Minnesota.

On Friday night the LA Clippers will travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves. They will most likely be without not one, not two, not three but four of their guards. This means Jerome Robinson and Terance Mann will have to prove themselves.

Patrick Beverley suffered a concussion in the team’s victory over the Toronto Raptors. In that same game, Derrick Walton Jr. injured his hamstring. With Rodney McGruder and Landry Shamet currently projected to miss Friday’s contest as well, the Clips will be with only one player in their preferred regular guard rotation, Lou Williams.

Jerome Robinson has been getting some minutes since Shamet has been out (12.7 per game this season) but just has not looked good. Doc Rivers sings his praises on defense, but the Clips will need to eventually get some offense out of the second-year player. He currently is shooting an abysmal 25.6% from deep. If he gets slid into the starting lineup, he will get open looks. Friday night is his chance to finally start knocking them down.

What should the team do with Jerome Robinson?. light. Clippers' perspective

Terance Mann is the other candidate to get the start. Mann’s time on the court has been inconsistent, averaging just 8.5 minutes in 20 appearances. After some recent struggles which we can attribute to being young, Mann seems to have been bumped out of the rotation by Derrick Walton Jr.

Since he likely won’t be around on Friday, Mann may get another chance to prove why the team was so high on him this summer. By the team, we mean his fellow players. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both sung his praises. Doc Rivers noticed the team constantly pushing for him to be better. There obviously has to be something there.

Mann’s size might be a nice size matchup against the Wolves’ Jeff Teague who has averaged 14.1 points per game this season. Mann won’t shoot from deep which could hurt the offensive group’s spacing, but his defense could be invaluable.

Next. Takeaways from the Clippers win over Toronto. dark

The Clippers lucked out that these injuries piled up right as they hit a couple of easier games. The Wolves sit at 10-14 on the year while their Saturday opponent, the Chicago Bulls, are just 9-17 on the year. Regardless of who starts between Mann and Robinson, both will get significant minutes compared to the last few games. With weaker opponents on the schedule, the two young guards need to finally show both the team and fans that they can contribute in a meaningful way.

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